Lake Oswego School District's $187 Million Bond Passes

LAKE OSWEGO, OR — Voters on Tuesday approved the Lake Oswego School District's $187 million 2017 School Improvement Bond with roughly 59 percent approval, clearing the way for district officials implement several costly projects, which include needed repairs at schools across the district, safety and security improvements, and the construction of an all new Lakeridge Junior High.

The bond package asked residents to approve paying $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed value for no more than 26 years. According to district officials, that equates to roughly $425 per year for a home valued at $340,000.

Projects funded by the bond include:

• $61 million to replace and/or repair roofs on some schools, repair compromised building envelopes, upgrade heating and ventilation, electrical, plumbing and structural systems, and make energy improvements;
• $3 million to upgrade school safety and security with controlled entryways, CCTV camera systems, intruder locks, and the re-keying of exterior doors;
• $12.8 million to improve student access to improved and reliable technology at all district facilities;
• $5 million to create STEM/STEAM centers at secondary schools, which is expected to provide students with opportunities to expand knowledge and experience in science, technology, engineering, art, and math fields;
• $82 million to completely replace Lakeridge Junior High;
• $5.8 million to construct maker space and multipurpose rooms at several elementary schools;
• $7 million to replace a swimming pool (though district officials said that expenditure may be contingent on partnerships to cover remaining costs not covered by the bond); and
• $9 million for program costs.

From Lake Oswego School District Superintendent Heather Beck:

We are overwhelmingly grateful to the community for its support of the district bond measure. As we look forward to bringing badly needed improvements to our schools, we also recognize our incumbent responsibility to execute these projects carefully and with full accountability to the citizens who are paying for them.

An effort like this doesn’t succeed without a lot of help. Thank you to the School Board for its leadership in driving this facility improvement process, and to the campaign committee — led by John Stirek and Rick Miller — and all the parent volunteers whose hard work led to this successful outcome. Thank you to the many community leaders, especially the Lake Oswego City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Lake Oswego Review, whose endorsement of this bond measure helped validate the need for addressing the condition of our school facilities.

We will now have the opportunity to begin the public engagement process to plan our projects and timelines. One of our first actions will be to appoint the Bond Accountability Committee, whose members will help provide oversight of project execution.

Thank you for your support of public education and our community’s children. We are committed to honoring the trust voters have placed in us, and to providing schools that continue to be a source of pride for our community.

Voters also elected new school board officials Rob Wagner, Sara Pocklington, and Liz Hartman. Wagner and Hartman were unchallenged. Pocklington beat out John Wendland for position 3.

In the Riverdale School District just north of Lake Oswego, school board incumbents John Bogarty (Position 1), Michael Gunter (Position 3), and Michelle Janke (Position 5) all defeated their opponents.

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