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 increasing safety and security, renovation and repairs, technology infrastructure, improved learning environments and building upgrades for Roseburg Schools.
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!
Bottom line: our buildings are incredibly OLD for the amount of use they have been subject to. Improvements are necessary!
*Not including the 2 newer high school buildings.
Five of our elementary schools do not have adequate and separate recreational and lunch facilities. This creates a difficult situation in terms of timing and planning for students to get and eat lunches while meeting the physical education requirement and needs of all students in the building.
The Old Main building at RHS has more than surpassed its useful life as an academic building, not to mention it is a potential seismic hazard. The facility, built in 1926, no longer meets modern educational standards or building codes. One only has to tour the building to understand the historical significance lies in the memories and the pictures, not in the building itself, which is why the bond will design a new building to take its place by honoring the historical architecture elements. It’s a smart investment.
In 2019, an independent contractor completed a 153-page facilities analysis, identifying needs of all buildings throughout the school district. In 2021, a Community Bond Development Committee, over the course of several months, toured the buildings, read the 2019 analysis, talked to staff as well as community members, considered costs to taxpayers, and created a bond package that included the most critical improvement needs.
The bond package is not asking for an extravagant package of improvements, but improvements that are smart, affordable and necessary.
The average age of our buildings is 73 years old! WE DRAW NO TAXES FOR FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS. It is smart, affordable, and necessary to do this NOW!
Electrical, roofing, flooring, lighting and plumbing improvements as well as updated playground equipment at elementary schools and middle school track replacements and synthetic turf fields are included in the projects.
The district will replace the old main at RHS with a classroom building that will house the current occupants of the old main, as well as provide additional and upgraded Career and Technical offerings, computer labs, and create updated educational spaces.
The district will also build multipurpose recreational facilities at 5 elementary schools that have combined lunchroom/gym spaces, freeing up the physical education time and offering a shared space for all teachers and staff for multi-grade activities. These buildings will be available for community recreational spaces, as well as community shelters in the event of a catastrophe.
The list includes every building, and is not extravagant, but smart, affordable, and necessary!
Yet, the district will still have to maintain the buildings as they exist now, and another year of use will be added to them, not to mention higher building costs down the road.
The capital improvement bonds are totally separate from operating budgets for schools, where 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 10-187 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 order to receive this $5.8 million-dollars, our voters must vote Yes for the bond. If the bond fails, we lose this grant. In addition, $6,000,000 in ESSER funding will be put toward building improvements.
We want to make sure every penny is accounted for, as well as make certain we stretch every dollar for maximum benefit!
Let’s repeat: RPS has the lowest permanent tax rate in Douglas County!