A pre-bond planning update was presented at during the superintendent’s report at Thursday’s North Wasco County School District 21 (NWCSD 21) school board meeting.
The presentation, which was given by District Communication’s Director and Bond Leadership Committee Member Stephanie Bowen, along with Steve Nelson and Alec Holser, members of Opsis Architecture — the Portland-based architectural firm hired by the D21 to facilitate the bond planning process, district public affairs consultant Jeremy Wright, of Wrights Public Affairs, and community advisory committee members Davina Craig and Anthony Pereira, broke down the district’s current bond planning efforts, recapping the work invested in developing a bond package, current recommendations, and the steps going forward.
Recap
With the district having identified facilities and bond discussions as a priority for 2023, during the presentation, Bowen broke down the foundation work the district had undergone before establishing a Community Advisory Committee (CAC), including a facilities condition assessment conducted in 2019, and a Long Range Facilities Plan completed in 2019-2020. Due to this work, the district qualified for $4 million in the Oregon Capital Improvement Matching (OSIM) program grant funds, which, along with Oregon Department of Education (ODE) Technical Assistance Program (TAP), allowed them to complete the seismic upgrade of Kurtz gym in 2021. Other work consisted of engaging with Piper & Sandler to put together bond packages and their tax implications and with Wright Public Affairs to assist in creating bond language and conduct community polling, finally meeting with community groups to “take the temperature” regarding a potential bond.
Nelson broke down how Opsis assisted in the construction of three teams in order to develop the outreach process of the bond planning, including the Bond Leadership Committee (BLC), which consisted of district administration, including School Board Chair Jose Aparicio, Superintendent Carolyn Bernal, and Bowen, the Bond Planning Committee (BPC), consisting of district staff, including principals from each school, and finally the Community Advisory Committee (CAC). “There were almost 50 community members that were involved in this process,” said Nelson of the CAC during the March 16 meeting. “It included student representatives, parent representatives, community partners, whether they’re at the local ESD, or the community college and community members at large.”
The CAC met a total of five times, receiving a bond overview, discussing bond basics and obstacles, and holding brainstorming exercises to identify and discuss areas of need and priority, ultimately identifying the highest priority as the construction of a new high school. Over the five meetings, the committee discussed logistics of a bond, including the programing and costs, discussing local polling results, tax and timing implications and ultimately conducted a “build a bond” exercise, in which committee members started off with the lowest bond package — $120 million — and identified what they felt were areas of priority to see if the consensus would be to stay at the lowest package or increase it to $140 million. The group also discussed the timing of the bond, and whether it should be placed on the May or November 2023 ballot.
“This Community Action Committee was fabulous,” said Holser. “There was great camaraderie … everybody really dug in and was all talking and thinking about what does this community need? What can they accept? What’s the tough decisions? So, it was a really great crew to work with.”
Recommendations
While the ultimate bond amount won’t be finalized until June when the board will take action to approve a package for the November 2023 ballot, according to Bowen in an email to Columbia Gorge News, the consensus of the CAC is for the board to consider a $140 million dollar bond package, “which would include the new high school with expanded student capacity and some upgrades to athletic fields/improvements,” said Bowen.
According to the presentation, the estimated bond tax rate for a $140 million bond would consist of $3.12 per $1,000 compared to $2.67 of a $120 million bond, with the 45 cent difference allowing “the district to better meet its education goals.” According to Nelson, the CAC discussed and ultimately settled on a 30-year bond length. The bond scope identifies a new high school replacement on the Wahtonka site, with athletic fields as highest priority, as well as “warm, safe and dry” projects at TDHS, to allow the district to repurpose the building. “The community values that property wants to see something there,” said Wright.
Next steps
According to the presentation, now through April, the bond planning committee will be gathering more feedback from district staff and the community, with the possibility of updated polling and a community engagement committee. In May and June, the bond scope will be finalized and put forth for board action. Should a recommendation be approved, a bond campaign will kick off between July and November.
The district will continue to seek ways to improve its existing facilities through the general fund while also targeting grant opportunities, posting a series of FAQs to the district website for anyone who as questions regarding the bond planning and campaign process. The district is also developing a facilities group; “They’re reaching out to some of the members who are part of the community advisory committee and some of the community members to get a better sense of the overall need within the district and to provide some recommendations there,” said Nelson.
According to the presentation, the district is considering more community involvement opportunities, including the creation of a community liaison group, developing a visioning group for the existing TDHS building, and giving the opportunity for broader community education, such as hosting open houses at TDHS.
To view the entire March 16 School board meeting, go to the District 21 channel on YouTube. To learn more about the current bond planning process, go to the NWCSD 21 website, and click on “bond planning” under the “About us” Tab.
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