School district faces bond questions

The taxpayers of Sisters Country have consistently shown that they are willing to open their checkbook to support a school district that has performed well and forms a vital part of the local community. Voters overwhelmingly approved a renewal of a local option tax in 2013.

The request for $14.5 million in bond funding on the November ballot - put together by a citizen committee - is garnering vocal support. However, there are also many questions in the community, including among those inclined to support the schools.

Perhaps the biggest concern among voters is the portion of the bond - about $1.3 million - that will be dedicated to replacing the 10-year-old roof on the high school. The three-tab roof was part of the "value engineering" that attempted to push down costs of the 2003 construction of Sisters High School. The freeze-thaw conditions of Sisters Country have hammered the roof. Now there are cracks that run the length of the roof and spots that leak.

Superintendent Jim Golden acknowledged the frustration of those in the community who don't think they should be saddled with the cost of fixing a roof that has only used up a third of its purported life. He said the district has submitted a warranty claim, but he has little hope that that will take care of matters. And, he said, there aren't really other avenues to pursue.

"There's no legal recourse," he said.

He argues that, however angry people are over the failure of the roof and the apparent inability to recoup the loss, the roof remains a problem.

"The roof is what it is," he told The Nugget. "You want to hang somebody, go ahead. Still, the roof is going to leak. You can get mad at things, but it doesn't fix it. The goal with the roof would be to wait as long as possible (for replacement), but at the same time, if it starts failing, we have to address it."

That raises another issue of concern for taxpayers: If the job was bungled last time, what's to say it won't happen again? How can taxpayers be assured that this time the district will get it right? And that question applies to all of the projects on the list with the bond.

District Facilities Manager Leland Bliss told The Nugget that the bond will include funding for third-party oversight by what is known as a "commissioning agent."

"Third-party is the key word in that," he said. "They don't work for the contractor."

The bond request includes funds for technology upgrades. Some question whether the district should be seeking long-term funding for technologies that have a short-term lifespan.

Golden notes that some of the proposed tech upgrades - hot spots, updated phone systems - are, in fact, long-term investments. Electronic textbooks and the like do have a relatively short life, but the bond committee believes they are a critical investment in moving Sisters students into learning modes that are required for 21st century education.

The bond request also includes funds for security upgrades at all three Sisters schools. That largely consists of reconfiguring sightlines so that staff can better monitor who is coming into the schools. Such upgrades are considered a necessity in the face of intruder attacks on schools.

Some taxpayers question whether the district should be investing anything further in the Sisters Elementary School building. While a steep decline in enrollment has leveled off somewhat this year, enrollment is well short of pre-recession levels - and it is uncertain how or when it will come back.

Perhaps the district would be better off decommissioning Sisters Elementary School and consolidating in Sisters Middle School (SMS)?

"That's a great question," Golden said.

He acknowledged that what happens with enrollment is "a crystal ball question," one that the district may have to face. But not yet, he believes (see story, page 37).

The superintendent notes that "you'd have to do some extensive remodel (at SMS) to make it usable as an elementary school. That isn't cheaper than what we're going to invest. I don't think there's any savings there at this point in time."

The bond request also includes some $3.7 million for repairing and upgrading sports facilities.

That has raised a few eyebrows in the community. Some question whether this is a "need" or a "want."

The answer to that question, of course, depends in part on the value one assigns to the role of athletics in education.

Golden asserts that Reed Stadium is a problem. ADA access is a problem and the bleachers have gaps that are wide enough for a child to fall through. There are no permanent bathroom facilities.

Why is all of this coming up now?

"I can't believe we haven't run into more trouble for this long," Golden said. "It's something that's been on our list to fix. And we're becoming (more) aware because we've had complaints."

The track has some ripples due to root-heave and Golden said it is unusable. That means Sisters' track meets in 2015 will all be "away" meets.

The Sisters School District has struggled financially for the past several years. While the district has done some facilities work - installing a biomass boiler, fixing boilers at Sisters Middle School, and fixing climate controls - the district has deferred much work in favor of maintaining programs and small class sizes.

Ballots for the November 4 election are out this week. The Sisters schools bond is Measure 9-102.

Sisters school enrollment has not yet recovered from the steep decline experienced in the heart of the Great Recession. Since state school funding is based on a per-student formula, loss of enrollment translates to declining budgets, and Sisters schools have been feeling a severe budget pinch for years.

That raises some tough questions for the district and its patrons: Can Sisters continue to sustain three schools? Should it close the elementary school and consolidate at Sisters Middle School?

Superintendent Jim Golden doesn't think the district is at that point yet - but he acknowledges a need to plan for that possibility.

It all depends on where enrollment goes. Current enrollment as of October "rollup" was 1,104 students against last year's rollup of 1,079. Rollup refers to the replacement of high school students by the estimate of incoming of kindergarten enrollment.

"This is not year-over-year growth but, in other words, we went from a diving Kamikaze plane in terms of loss of enrollment to now," Golden told the school board earlier this month. "We have almost pulled up. If we had another 42 kids we would be even or growing."

However, the district's own projections predict a potential for continued decline in enrollment from 1,094 this year to 891 in 2017-18. That could change, of course, but only if families with children move into the district and/or the schools continue to be successful in attracting more out-of-district students.

"I believe Sisters is still a vibrant, attractive community where people want to live," Golden told The Nugget.

Those attractive qualities - including high-performing schools with unique program offerings and small class-sizes - give weight to the hope that enrollment decline can be stabilized and reversed.

But, Golden notes, "We do have some structural problems: There's no rentals and (not much) affordable housing."

If enrollment does not recover, it may make sense to decommission the elementary school and consolidate facilities. There are some advantages to doing that in any case, Golden says.

The district could remodel Sisters Middle School or, if the economic skies cleared, perhaps build a new elementary school and have all of its facilities, including district offices, concentrated in one area.

"I'd love that," Golden said. "I don't necessarily like having my elementary school on Highway 20."

The district could sell the elementary school and/or the administration property and use the funds to construct and maintain new facilities.

But whether by force or by choice, the district can't act on the idea now. It would take a land-use process probably lasting several years to get the land rezoned and ready for sale, and the community would likely be divided over what kind of development they want to see at that key spot in town.

And it is not a quick, cheap, and easy fix to remodel Sisters Middle School. A two-story building is not suitable for an elementary school, Golden notes. Moving the elementary school there would probably require - if not a new building - a substantial new wing.

"You'd have to do some extensive remodel there to make it usable as an elementary school," he said. "It's not without cost and I don't think you want to pull the trigger right now."

However, Golden acknowledged that it would be a good idea to have a complete plan in place "behind glass" in the event the district either needs to take drastic downsizing measures or can consolidate on one campus simply for better efficiency and financial well-being.

"It's something I think we need to do, yeah," he said.

Planning for such an eventuality is not strictly a school matter, he said. A variety of agencies and many citizen stakeholders would have to take part.

"I think the community needs to come together and make a comprehensive plan," he said.