345 SE 5th, Madras, OR 97741 | 541.475.2275
Bond a dynamics changer for 509-J
After sorting out details with the Confederated Tribes, and a series of meetings with a citizens' group, the 509-J school board adopted the proposal Monday night for an ambitious bond levy.
Come May, the district voters will decide on a $26.65 million, 20-year levy. The projects included will improve and modernize facilities, but more than that the bond would change social and educational dynamics within the district, and provide an element of unprecedented community enrichment.
The bond is basically broken into three segments: $10.74 million for half the cost of a K-8 school in Warm Springs; $7.98 million for a performing arts center on the high school campus; and $7.93 for a wide assortment of improvements ranging from asbestos removal and interior fire sprinkler systems to a new football stadium and track at the high school.
Did I say it was ambitious?
The new school in Warm Springs is needed even it were to replace the existing elementary school. But this project doesn't just replace a school: it changes the education dynamic in both Warm Springs and Madras. The Warm Springs community has long backed keeping their students at home longer, many even endorsing a K-12 school.
Allowing the tribal kids to stay in Warm Springs through eighth grade frees up space at the middle school. The cultural integration -- a dominating, sometimes problematic element at middle school -- is delayed until high school instead of sixth grade. Whether that will improve or hinder cultural relations within the school district remains to be seen -- but it's an experiment nearly all seem to agree is worth attempting.
Before anyone complains about the district paying for half the cost of the Warm Springs school, note that the district has brought in tens of millions of dollars over the half century through federal Impact Aid from having the tax-exempt reservation within the district, and other Native American education funding sources. The district has been well subsidized for serving the reservation.
No doubt one of the most controversial aspects of the levy will be the performing arts center. But, did you know that essentially every high school in Central Oregon outside of Jefferson County has a similar-sized facility on their campus? Having a performing arts facility is not superfluous for a high school; it's actually backwards to not have one.
Sure, the local schools could finally have a quality auditorium for musical performances and plays, but a performing arts center would be much more than that. It could be rented out for nonschool performances, providing Madras with a community-enhancing staple it sorely needs.
The facility could be used consistently, potentially 40 or more weekends a year. It's easy to envision a community organization managing arrangements for concerts and other performances. A good concert in a small, excellent venue might demand a $75 ticket price or more -- at 600 seats that's $45,000 gross. The local dance studio (of which, for disclosure purposes, my wife is an owner) would likely rent the facility for three or four weekends a year; the new community theater group could do the same. Maybe Culver School District would stage performances there as well.
The potential is huge.
The third leg, according to the handout at the school board Monday, includes 49 projects totalling $7.93 million. I won't list them here. Highlights include a new football stadium, new tracks at the high school and middle school, soccer field enhancements, and substantial improvement at every school in the district outside of Warm Springs.
District taxpayers are currently paying off two bonds -- one from 1993 and another from 2002. Together they equate to about $3 per $1,000 in value. So, if you have a home with a tax value of $100,000, you pay out about $300 for the bonds per year.
This levy would merge in as the other two phase out. It would essentially continue the tax rate for what has been going on for about 20 years for another 20 years. No tax rate hike, proponents note.
No doubt, it's going to be a tough sell in this economy. The Culver School District attempted a $14.5 million bond in November and it was shot down substantially. Its chief perception problems: being too athletic-based and not focused enough on strictly educational needs. Those feelings may dog the 509-J effort as well. We'll see.
This levy effort will create a partnership between at least three interest groups -- supporters of MHS athletics, the arts community, and a Warm Springs community eager to expand their own school offerings. Each knows this bond would be a community changer.
This is a tough time economically, no doubt, and the backers of this levy will have a tough selling job. But it truly seems like they have a very good product to sell, and that's a great starting point.