Silver Falls School District 4J

Referred to the People by the District Board
Silver Falls School District Bond to complete Silverton High School

Question: Is the district authorized to issue general obligation bonds not exceeding $47,500,000 for construction of high school facilities? If the bonds are approved, they will be payable from taxes on property or property ownership that are not subject to the limits of sections 11 and 11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution.

Summary: Passage of this measure would provide funds for capital construction and improvements and bond costs. Specifically, this measure would provide funds to:

• Construct, equip and furnish an approximate 150,000 square foot addition to the new starter high school built with the bond levy approved in 1994. This addition would include approximately 34 classrooms, computer labs, expansion of the library and cafeteria, an auditorium, physical education facilities, field development, and improvements. It would increase the high school’s capacity from 500 to approximately 1,400 students.

• Construct, equip and furnish a separate agricultural science and industrial arts building to train students for entry into apprenticeship training programs in agricultural science, drafting, carpentry and welding.

• Pay bond issuance costs.

The Bonds would mature in twenty-one (21) years or less.

Explanatory Statement

In 1994 voters passed a bond levy for construction of Phase I of a two phase project to build a new high school. The new starter high school was constructed on Pine Street in Silverton. It was completed in 1997 with a capacity for approximately 500 students.

Since 1997 the district’s approximately 350 ninth grade students have been housed at the new building. However, these students must be bussed to the old campus for various math, science and elective classes, losing as much as 20 days of instructional time during a school year.

Also the outdated and inadequate facilities at the high school level are insufficient to provide up-to-date instruction for students to prepare them for entry into trade apprenticeship training programs as well as college.

This bond measure would:

• Complete the new high school campus and

• Construct a separate agricultural science and industrial arts building.

Completing the new high school would increase student capacity from approximately 500 students to approximately 1,400 students and meet district enrollment needs for the foreseeable future. Enrollment in Silver Falls schools is expected to increase 4.5 percent between 2006 and 2011, according to enrollment projections from Information Management Systems, Rockford, Mississippi.

Complete the new high school

The bond measure would provide funding to complete the new high school facility by constructing, equipping and furnishing an approximate 150,000 square foot addition to the new starter high school built with the bond levy passed by voters in 1994. This addition would include approximately 34 classrooms, computer labs, expansion of the library and cafeteria, an auditorium, physical education facilities, field development, and other improvements.

Construct a separate agricultural science and industrial arts building

The bond measure would provide funding to construct, equip and furnish a separate agricultural sciences and industrial arts building with facilities to train students for entry into apprenticeship training programs in agricultural science, drafting, carpentry and welding.

Bond proceeds can only be used for bond projects

The bond issue’s principal amount cannot exceed $47,500,000. Bond proceeds can only be used for costs associated with the high school completion projects and agricultural sciences and industrial arts building projects listed on this ballot.

The bonds would mature in twenty-one years or less. The estimated increase in property taxes would be approximately $2.74 per $1,000 of assessed value per year over the life of the 21-year bond. During the first six years, until the 1994 bonds are retired, the estimated rate would average approximately $2.45 per $1,000 of value in additional property taxes. For the owner of an average home in the Silverton area assessed at $200,000, the bond would cost approximately $548 per year. Rates could vary depending on interest rates and growth in the District’s total assessed value.

Submitted by: Craig Roessler, Silver Falls School District Superintendent