Hillsboro School Board Approves $408 Million Bond Proposal

HILLSBORO, OR — At its meeting Tuesday, the Hillsboro School Board unanimously approved adding a $408 million capital construction bond to the November ballot. The new bond proposal, according to Hillsboro School District spokeswoman Beth Graser, will not raise the current bond rate.

If approved, district officials will sell bonds at the current rate of $2.24 per $1,000 of assessed value, Graser said in a statement, allowing the district to complete safety, seismic and other infrastructure improvements at existing schools, construct new facilities, and invest in modern technology and curricular programs.

Click here for the list of projects included in the 2017 bond package.

The bond package, which district Superintendent Mike Scott delivered to the school board, was put together by the Bond Advisory Committee — a group of education-minded individuals from a variety of backgrounds who'd worked together since October 2016 to construct a bond package that could meet the district's need for the next nine years.

According to Graser, the committee was originally given a list of 20 years' worth of projects totaling around $700 million. They were able to get it down to the $408 million mark, which Graser said ought to take the district to 2026, when it can request another bond after the bond set in 2006 has been completely paid off.

"We are pleased that we have been able to honor the commitment of the 2006 Bond Committee to not return to voters with another bond ask for eight to ten years," District Superintendent Mike Scott said in a statement. "It has been eleven years since that bond ask and it is now time to invest in both our current properties and new projects so that our students can learn in safe, modern environments, and have access to additional opportunities that will spark their intellectual curiosity and career-related aspirations."

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