Roseburg School District has a long history of offering programs that prepare students for careers in the trades. Did you know Roseburg High School offers welding, automotive, drafting, wood-working instruction and other programs? These programs introduce students to in-demand, high-paying fields that support our community’s economy.
In recent years, the district also started a nursing assistant program that connects to the registered nursing program at Umpqua Community College. RHS graduates can enter the medical workforce directly or continue their education.
Supporting this bond will allow the district to improve teaching space and the technology needed for job-skill training.
The state of Oregon only provides money to school districts for day-to-day costs and staff. The state does not supply money for building construction costs or major maintenance for schools. That’s what community school bonds are for.
By voting yes, you help ensure state school funds stay in the classroom. This allows the district to focus on core subjects such as improving the reading and writing skills our kids need for success. And it means the district can continue to afford programs that support student learning and growth.
Roseburg School District has a proud history of supporting old school buildings. The average age of our schools is about 74 years. To protect the community’s investments in these old buildings, we need your help to keep them running. Projects in the bond will help make our schools safe, secure and effective for today’s students.
As much as we would love to build brand-new schools, living within our means is important. By voting yes, you can protect your current investments now and into the future. And Roseburg will keep its status among Oregon communities with the lowest tax rates.
For a comprehensive list of proposed projects, visit RoseburgSchoolBond.org
DOWNLOAD FLYERS
Local business owner, community volunteer, Roseburg School District parent, 4th generation RHS graduate
Community volunteer, member of the bond development committee, nonprofit board member, former City Manager for the City of Roseburg
Every donation, no matter the amount, directly funds our campaign. The bond is focused on addressing security and safety projects at every school. This will allow the district to focus on providing job training skills for students, teaching the basics and protecting our community investments.
Our community ALWAYS steps up when there is a huge need, and we believe the school improvement bond is more important than ever to keep our community strong, our citizens employed, promote our area as a great place to raise a family, and give our next generation of leaders the tools they need to be successful. Thank you!
In the last 40 years our community has passed one bond, and that was 23 years ago, for $23.9 million. That bond was paid off on time, in November 2021. The voters were close to passing the 2020 bond measure. That measure fell short by just a few hundred votes.
The district placed a bond measure on the 2022 May ballot in hopes of taking care of many of our schools’ needs. But due to record-high inflation and some concerns about the size of the bond, the voters declined to support that bond measure.
Many voters came forward and provided feedback asking the district to trim down their request. They also asked us to focus on major maintenance and job skill training. The current bond measure request is consistent with what taxpayers asked for. If we don’t pass this bond now, the costs to make major updates and repairs to our schools will continue to rise every year.
All schools will receive updates to security and safety standards. Healthy, safe schools allow students to focus on growing basic learning skills instead of worrying about threats to their safety or being too distracted by overheated or frigid classrooms. The total cost for updates district-wide is $49.8 million. To put this into perspective, a new elementary school that serves 600 students would cost an estimated $47.45 million. Our district currently serves about 2,670 elementary students.
The bond also calls for new learning space at Roseburg High School, attended by 1,600 students each year. Nearly every student attending schools in our district will eventually use this space. The cost to replace the Old Main building at RHS is $31.5 million. The Old Main was built about 100 years ago. Nearly all classes were moved out of the Old Main this school year because the facility is no longer considered safe for students and staff. The new facility will expand space for quality learning and additional job-skill programs.
Roseburg School District’s permanent tax rate is lower than all other districts in Douglas County and neighboring districts in other counties. Communities including Coos Bay, Winston-Dillard, Reedsport, Glide, Elkton, Glendale, North Douglas, Myrtle Point and Bandon have higher permanent tax rates than Roseburg and also pay additional tax levies for their local school bonds.
Taxpayers in our district are currently paying the second lowest tax rate for schools out of all similarly sized school districts in the state of Oregon. If the bond is passed, Roseburg School District would still fall among the lowest tax rates out of all similarly sized school districts in the state.
The Old Main building at RHS has more than surpassed its useful life as an academic building and is also a potential seismic hazard. The facility, built in 1926, no longer meets modern educational standards or building codes. In the 2022-23 school year, nearly all classes were moved out of the Old Main into temporary spaces around campus.
The district will still have to maintain the buildings as they exist now, and another year of use will be added to them as building costs continue to rise.
The capital improvement bonds are totally separate from operating budgets for schools. The state gives each district money for running the schools on a per student basis determined by number of students attending. This money simply pays for the nuts and bolts of education, not the buildings, except for yearly maintenance as needed.
Our district must pass a bond to update and renovate our aging buildings. It is the legal process in Oregon.
The Student Success Act was NOT designed to go toward capital construction as Bond 10-206 is proposing.
In addition, the funds may be used to support continuity of learning, additional instructional staff, additional custodial support, technology devices and equipment, virtual school options, nursing support, and supplies and air filters in classrooms.
In 2022, following the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, the Roseburg School Board directed the district to use some remaining COVID relief funding to immediately begin improving security. These one-time funds are being used on new fencing and secure front offices for controlled access to our schools. To complete the security projects, the district will need the additional funding provided by this school bond.
We want to make sure every penny is accounted for, as well as make certain we stretch every dollar for maximum benefit.