By Stephen Floyd
The Silver Falls School District Board is expected review the recommendations of its Bond Advisory Committee and vote on the scope and timing for a potential capital improvement bond June 20.
The committee discussed $138 million in district needs in order to improve all local schools plus rebuild Silverton Middle School. The middle school is currently housed in a single story wing of the former high school and in modular units. Any final figure for the bond proposal, which ultimately will have to go before the voters, requires board authorization.
If the board decides to pursue a bond it will also need to set the timing for the measure: should it appear on a May or November ballot.
At its June 12 workshop the board was scheduled to discuss the finalized recommendation from the Bond Advisory Committee. The committee’s final meeting was May 30. The group began work last September, exploring needs, costs, and conducting community outreach.
A series of 10 community listening sessions were held at schools throughout the district from February through April. Administrators, committee members and consultants described the maintenacne challenges and safety needs.
The district estimated $63 million is necessary to address deferred maintenance and safety renovations at all schools. Building a new middle school was estimated at $75 million.
When asked why the middle school could not simply be renovated, administrators said the estimated cost to do so would be at least $68 million. They said the systems in the 84-year-old building have reached the end of their useful lifecycles.
When the bond for the completion of the second phase of the new high school was passed in 2006, seismic and safety concerns about the two-story section of the old building were stressed.
Feedback from the listening sessions was taken into account when the committee compiled its final recommendation. District officials would not confirm details of the committee’s submission prior to the June 12 board workshop, which was after the Our Town press deadline.
If the board approves putting a bond on the ballot, it will be the first measure in nine years. A $24.9 million bond was rejected by 55.7 percent of the voters in 2014. A similar measure for $36.9 million in 2013 was rejected by 56.4 percent of the voters.
Administrators have said they hope the broad scope of the current proposal, which impacts all schools districtwide, will help encourage support.
Superintendent Scott Drue has said every effort necessary should be made to “pass the bond at all costs.”
