Our district is fortunate to have property that will accommodate a new school so no land needs to be purchased. The preliminary design incorporates Petersen and Grant Watts on the eastside of Highway 30. That means a more secure and safe method to drop off and pick up our elementary students.

The costs to taxpayers in delaying this construction can best be illustrated by comparing the 2002 bond levy with the 2008 amounts. While the two amounts are about the same, Measure 5-188 includes one less school. The bond levy in 2002 would have given the district two new schools! Today we can only pay for one. We have lost almost $14,000,000 of purchasing power in six years. We will get less and less with every month we delay.

The decision to submit this bond levy did not come lightly. To ensure there was community agreement on our district’s future needs, the board established a Long-range Facility Planning Committee made up of over 50 members from the community. In an 18-month period, the committee determined from the list of identified needs. The most critical was to replace Petersen School with a safer, more energy-efficient building. There are other important needs such as bringing the high school roof into energy-efficient compliance and adding rooms at Watts and Warren to address expanding student population.

Measure 5-188 represents the opportunity for our community to have our Scappoose schools safer and more energy efficient. They will be the kind of schools that make a community proud and that attracts new members. Those new homeowners will also help pay for this bond. Well-maintained schools increase property and home values as Scappoose remains a great place to live and raise a family.

This is a smart plan with no frills. The Citizen Oversight Committee will oversee the expenditures of every dollar. We urge you to join us in supporting our community schools by voting yes on Measure 5-188.

— Jim and Pat Hoag, Scappoose

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Call for School Bond Support [The South County Spotlight, Sep 3]
I write in support of the upcoming bond measure that will fund capital improvements in the Scappoose School District. I served on the committee appointed by the school board to evaluate our buildings and assess future needs. Many of us toured the schools, listened to administrators and a school architect, studied population projections, and spent many evenings discussing and pricing alternatives. I believe each member shared my goals, which were to learn and understand the issues, consider every possible action or inaction, and recommend that the school board refer to the voters a capital improvement bond only if there was a legitimate and necessary justification for every dollar requested in the bond. I am confident that the proposed bond reflects these goals.

Here are but a few of the facts our committee learned and considered:

Nearly 90 percent of our students attend our four “big” schools. Of these four, the High School is the newest (built in 1972), followed by Grant Watts/K-3rd grades (1962), Petersen/4-6 grades (1945), and the Middle School 7-8 grades (1931). None of these schools meets current building codes for earthquake survivability or fire suppression. Even our newest building, the high school, lacks basic energy conservation measures and its roof has no insulation. Peterson’s energy consumption is 94.7 btu per square foot compared to the state standard of 30-42. Our buildings probably served the technology needs of students in the 1930s to the early 1970s quite well. However, our high school science and computer rooms are cluttered with admirable but chaotic attempts to address the technology needs of today through the cement walls and floors of yesterday. School violence, with the need to “lock down” a building quickly, was not a factor when our schools were designed. Drills have shown that the time required to lock our school doors by hand is dangerously long. The Grant Watts K-3rd elementary school is at capacity and children living only blocks from Grant Watts must bus to Warren. Oregon school districts receive state funding on a per student basis. State funding can be spent on operating expenses such as paying staff, heating buildings and minor maintenance, not for capital projects such as building or remodeling schools.

What will result from passing the bond? The largest expenditure (over 50 percent) will replace our most dilapidated building — Petersen, a 4th — 6th grade school. Peterson now requires too many major repairs in its structure, heating and electrical systems to merit repair rather than replacement. Rather than buying new land for a new Peterson or rebuilding on the same site and renting expensive temporary classrooms during construction, the new Peterson will be built beside the existing Grant Watts school on ground already owned by the district. This location allows Watts to share some of the new Peterson facilities. There will be safer bus routing between these two elementary schools, lessening traffic in surrounding neighborhoods and no longer will students, parents, cars, buses and a public road all share limited space in the Watts parking lot. Projected growth leaves the district no choice but to soon provide more classrooms. Rather than seek funds for a second new school building, the bond funds the construction of additional classrooms at the existing Grant Watts and Warren elementary schools. Adding onto existing facilities is the least expensive means to obtain classrooms. The expansion of Grant Watts in the middle of Scappoose will allow more Scappoose children to attend their neighborhood elementary school. The current student population at the high school already exceeds the building’s capacity. The bond funds a multi-purpose building providing additional instruction space as well as an auditorium where the district and community at large can hold large events. Finally, each building will receive improvements specific to the needs of the site, all targeted toward safety and extending the life of the physical plant.

What if the bond does not pass? Education in the district will not stop. The state will continue to send a proportional amount of the Common School Fund and our school board will continue to pay bills to the best of its ability. However, there will be no revenue for capital improvements to build, remodel or perform the major maintenance required by our 36- to 77-year old buildings. Ordinary maintenance will continue unaddressed, or be funded only at the expense of an operating budget already pruned of many electives and sports. Forgone maintenance will hasten the day when repair rather than replace is no longer an option, as has already occurred at Peterson.

This bond is a compromise addressing the most pressing of our needs while attempting to keep the tax burden as low as possible. For those who do not agree, I plead with you to make sure your adverse assumptions are accurate prior to casting this important vote. Remember that the money authorized in this bond benefits our community, our infrastructure and our young people. Failure to pass this bond leaves the Scappoose School District facing inevitable growth with rapidly deteriorating buildings. Eventually, even the best educators will be unable to deliver to our children the type of education necessary to compete in the 21st century. While I know we work hard for our income and that many struggle on fixed incomes, I do not believe we can ignore these problems. Others paid their hard-earned taxes so that we had schools. It is now our turn.

– Jeff C. Mapes, Scappoose

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Support for the Scappoose School District bond [The South County Spotlight, Aug 27, 2008]

We have been very connected to the Scappoose schools for almost 30 years. With four graduates, a daughter in the class of 2010, 18 years on the school board and budget committee for Larry, nine years as a substitute teacher/tutor by Nancy, and countless volunteer hours in K-12, we feel qualified to support Bond Measure 5-188, channeling tax money into our schools.

We have seen fiscal responsibility and spending restraint at all the schools over the years, and sacrifices to make do with older buildings, books, and equipment. Much of what the district uses in education is adequate, but replacing, updating and enriching the learning environment shows a commitment by adults to the future of a community’s children, and will draw in new families to help ease the tax burden.

Earlier in the 20th century citizens sacrificed to give Scappoose the school buildings that are aging today. It is time for new generations to have a vision for future education and make it a reality with our dollars. We urge you to join us in voting yes on this bond.

– Larry and Nancy Rocha, Scappoose

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Support for the Scappoose School District bond [The South County Spotlight, Aug 27, 2008]

The Scappoose School District Long-Range Facilities Planning Committee was comprised of over 50 community members like myself. The committee members began meeting in October of 2007 to determine the long-range facilities needs for the Scappoose School District. The plan was developed over months of research and is critical for the safety and efficiencies of our schools. The committee presented the plan to the school board which was adopted as Measure 5-188 in May.

On Nov. 4 you will be asked to vote on Measure 5-188, which is important for our schools and community. I urge you to find out more about Measure 5-188 by checking out the Scappoose School District Web site at www.scappoosek12.or.us, or at www.scappooseschoolbond.com.

– Jeff Spang, Scappoose

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