A new school - and finding a way to pay for it - is inevitable

Last updated Oct 31, 2006 12:0pm0

Sisters School District taxpayers have usually supported Sisters schools, and the Sisters School Board is confident the public will again respond when the time comes to ask for the passage of another bond measure.

Although dates have not yet been set, this request appears inevitable.

School board members discussed long-term facilities planning at their special meeting on Monday, October 23. Presently, Sisters' three schools are packed to the brim, and no end is in sight for enrollment increases (see related story, page 23). The need for a new school is a certainty that cannot be placed aside too much longer.

As a first step, the board will conduct a bond analysis, considering the need to acquire property, build new schools and provide for deferred maintenance.

At Monday's meeting School Board Chairman Rob Corrigan, contemplating asking taxpayers to provide funding for a new school, stated, "We need to look at bond alternatives to see the impact on taxpayer rates."

Director Glen Lasken said that the board needs to evaluate its windows of opportunity to determine the appropriate time to present a bond.

Corrigan responded, "We're going to have to sell a rate increase."

Board Vice Chair Steve Rudinsky added, "We need to look at competitive bonds that are out there." Rudinsky also said that the board must do a political analysis regarding passing a bond measure.

Board member Mike Gould commented, "We need to take a look at acquiring some property. I don't see that the growth that is happening here is going to come to a screeching halt."

Corrigan indicated that the district needs a bargain for land purchase.

"What I'd really love to do is get us 30 acres for free," he said.

However, Corrigan said that realistically the district needs to put funds aside to purchase property.

"Hopefully, we can purchase at a price less than developers," he said.

Board members agreed that when evaluating potential sites it will be essential to first determine whether the proposed campus will fit on the site. Such property must be within the urban growth boundaries. Although the board has not yet determined the grade levels a new school will house, Superintendent Ted Thonstad pointed out that 20-25 acres are needed for a K-8 grade school. Close to 50 acres are necessary for a high school.

An elementary school can be built on a plot smaller than either of the other two.

The board affirmed that the community is interested in providing input about potential sites for a new school, as well as the new facility itself.

Director Jeff Smith said that it is important for the board to take a proactive stance in formulating its plan.

"It is better for us to ask first rather than seek comment after having a plan," he said.

Gould added that he likes the idea of public input but "within some structure." Gould foresees the district presenting its ideas to the public in a forum such as a public hearing and asking the public if it has "others to add."

Superintendent Ted Thonstad suggested the formation of a facilities committee comprised of 10 or 12 community members before a public hearing occurs. These people would be educated about a bond measure and would serve as knowledgeable spokesmen and women to provide information to the public about its passage.

The Sisters School Board will continue its discussion about long-term facilities planning as the school year progresses.

Sisters schools — full and no relief in sight

Sisters Elementary School is full. Sisters Middle School is full. Continuing increase in enrollment at the high school will likely dictate that next year teachers will not have their own classrooms.

With new subdivisions like Hayden Homes' 400-home project and the Taurus Homes development in Timber Creek, not to mention continued development in Pine Meadows Village, downtown Sisters and outlying areas, Sisters schools are quickly moving from overcrowded to overflowing.

Sisters School Board members put their heads together at their special meeting on Monday evening, October 23 and initiated discussion about potential short- and long-term solutions to the problem.

The board is looking at next year's enrollment forecast and how it relates to potential classroom student/teacher ratios. Staff is making a room-by-room classroom count at each school and spaces like lecture and drama rooms are being evaluated to determine the feasibility of turning them into regular classrooms.

The infrastructure of each school is being examined to ascertain if bathrooms, cafeterias and extra rooms are adequate to service the district's ever-growing number of students. Alternatives such as adding modular classrooms as a short-term solution are under consideration.

Budgeting issues that are out of the board's control could also play a significant role in the district's ability to house its growing population.

"We need to know what happens on election day," said board member Mike Gould. "There is a pretty big external factor.'

Director Glen Lasken added that if measures 41 and 48 pass, the district will unlikely be able to maintain this year's class sizes. This thought is troubling to the board, knowing that this year some classes have more than 35 students. Added to the problem is the possibility that the Oregon Department of Education will withhold some of the district's state school funds on a monthly basis starting in January 2007 (see related story, page 1).

The board also discussed its policy of allowing transfer students to enroll in district schools and their impact on district enrollment. Considerable public concern has been voiced about students from Redmond and Bend attending Sisters schools.

Lasken suggested that the district close its doors to new transfer students while allowing current ones to return.

"We're not going to pass a bond unless we close the doors," he said.

Board Vice Chairman Steve Rudinsky added that he regularly is asked what is going on with the transfer students.

"The community is fixated on transfers," he said.

The board also discussed adding modulars next year as a short-term solution to the overcrowding problem. Lasken said that modulars are only temporary band-aids.

Three possible sites for a modular have been noted at the elementary school, and there is one proposed location at the middle school. Facilities supervisor Leland Bliss estimated that a modular classroom would cost the district between $110,000 and $120,000, including excavation, infrastructure, electricity, water and decks.

The board commented about the possibility of adding four classrooms onto one of the district's existing buildings. Superintendent Ted Thonstad said, "The estimate to add four classrooms was $1.2 million."

Lasken said this is "cost prohibitive."

The board will revisit the over-crowing problem at forthcoming meetings and, as a first step to securing a solution to the long-term problem, design an immediate plan to accommodate the increased enrollment that is predicted for the 2007-08 school year.