November 2007

Members Present: Dick Jones, Ginny Markell, Yvonne McVey, Heather Noren, Kristin Mitchell, Renee King, Julie Volpel, Jeff Klein, Gary Lane, John Mathews

Absent:  Tom Feeley, Todd Caldwell

District Staff Present: Jim Langstraat, Garry Kryszak, Leslie Robinette, Ron Stewart, Joe Krumm, Matt Utterback, Ron Naso

Absent: Blair Loudat, Vicki Chambers

School Board Members Present: Rein Vaga, Linda Moraga, Cheryl Myers

Community Members Present: none

Meeting called to order at 6:30 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Approval of Minutes from 8/15/07: Minutes approved as written.

Introduction to the Bond Web Site: Garry Kryszak

To access the web site, look for the hardhat icon on the school district web page.

Across the top bar is the Citizens Oversight Committee:
This part of the web site includes COC minutes, member contact information, and meeting dates.

The front page has a pie chart categorically describing how the dollars are allocated:
Four new schools, land, technology, and renovations. The two schools that will be re-built areincluded in the renovation total.

The project timelines button shows you the most up to date timelines for planned projects.

Complete financial reports are provided.

There is a summary of building projects, divided by feeder areas, starting with the high school.

The building projects home page shows a list of schools and all the projects planned and underway for each site. It describes the project team for each site, the timeline for work, and upcoming activities.

There will be current pictures of each site and what is happening there.

There are facility plan diagrams for what will happen at major project sites.

We will have live web cams for major projects with frequently updated photos.

The web site also includes Frequently Asked Questions.

Question: Is there a cost for the live web cam?
Answer: There is a minor cost buried in the contractor’s cost of doing business. There was a $2,500 set-up fee. This is part of the overall contracting package.

Question: 4 new schools—are they listed?
Answer: Yes, but we need to state this more clearly on the web site.

We need to identify more clearly that the two re-built schools are part of the renovation budget.

Budget Update, Contingency Discussion: Jim Langstraat

Our pledge to the community was that the property tax rate in the first four years would not go up more than $1.10 per thousand, and no more than $1.01 per thousand in the first year. The actual first year tax rate on the bond is 94 cents per thousand dollars of a home’s assessed value.

We planned very carefully to ensure that we would meet our pledge to the community.

Even if not all taxpayers pay, we will still be able to meet our obligations to fund the bond.

The research we did during bond planning showed that a home’s assessed value is only about 62% of the real market value. In 1997, measure 50 put a 3% cap on growth in assessed value.

Most of the financial institutions that do a foreclosure will pay the property taxes.

Over the last 10 years, the lowest increase in assessed value has been 4.8%. We expect that trend to continue. Many new properties are being built, such as the new stores and restaurants at Clackamas Town Center.

The assessed value follows the property, but not the owner.

Looking at the financial report, the blue line shows what has actually been spent, mostly on land. We have $17 million in encumbrances. The green line shows the original bond budget. We have $17.7 million in allocated contingency funds. We also have $13.1 million in unallocated (available) contingency funds.

The largest projects are new school construction. Assets remain at $220 million.

Question: Where do we see cost overruns or under runs for individual projects?
Answer: That information is not reflected here. We are not doing line item budgeting, but total spending per site. That site expenditure information will be availableas all the projects for each site are completed.

A summary sheet in the report shows funds allocated for each site. (expenses listed by site) We still have $13.1 million available for contingencies that have not yet been allocated.

Question: On the very first page of the financial, what is the light space on top?
Answer: The brown portion is just the background of the graph. The white bar shows the unallocated contingency funds.

Project Update: Ron Stewart & Garry Kryszak

Last summer, all but two planned projects were accomplished:

• The Putnam High well was on hold pending further investigation to see if the project is feasible and cost effective.
• Some weather stripping for doors at Oregon Trail has been on hold because the need was not immediate. It was not appropriate to do these projects at that time and placing these two projects on hold will not have a negative effect on building operation.

Alder Creek:
The light poles were completed with minimum disruption to user groups. Power connections to the stadium and snack shack were upgraded as part of the project.

Clackamas Elementary:
Installation of new windows in the annex was completed after a slight delay. The stucco on the front entry was repaired. We replaced the Roof on the main building and the gym.

Clackamas High:
New all-weather turf was installed on the main athletic field. Note that the turf fields at Putnam High and Milwaukie High will be completed next year
because these are larger, more complex projects involving turf, re-construction of the track to 8 full lanes, stadium renovation, and field lighting improvements.

Milwaukie High:
New roofing was completed in the gym area and two boilers were replaced.

Milwaukie Elementary/El Puente Bilingual School:
Extensive re-roofing was completed on flat roof sections.

Mt. Scott:
Re-roofed the entire building.
Replaced all siding and repaired rot.

Question: What was the issue with the furnace that caused the sprinklers to go off?
Answer: The heating controls malfunctioned This caused several rooms to overheat. The control problem was not related to the recently completed improvements. Furnaces at this site will be replaced, along with the controls as part of planned bond project work. At this facility,
each room has its own furnace.

Riverside:
Re-roofed the oldest portion of the building and replaced a boiler.

Sunrise:
In all commons and hallways, carpet was removed and replaced with vinyl tile and sheet vinyl.
Phase 1 of the metal roof replacement was completed. This work included both gyms and the B sector. There have been no leaks.
This was done for a very reasonable price. Phase two will follow.

Question: Have we hired someone to oversee the roofing projects?
Answer: Yes, on all roofing projects we use 3rd party inspectors.

We replaced a number of new boilers:
2 at Milwaukie High
1 at Sunnyside
1 at Riverside
6 furnaces at Campbell

Happy Valley:
Construction has begun on a new elementary and middle school.
We are making significant progress on this project.

In the spring of 2008:

Milwaukie High
Athletic projects launch in April.
We will expand the track to 8 lanes, install artificial turf, add a storage building, and relocate the visitor bleachers.
We will also add new poles and new field lights.
There will be less light trespass than the current set up.
There will also be major work at the auditorium and girls locker room which is explained below.

Putnam High:
Major remodel with improvements throughout the school.
8-lane track expansion
All weather turf field
Improvements to the girls softball field
Possible irrigation well

New lights and poles
The visitors’ bleachers will be renovated or replaced depending on the track dimensions.

The athletic field projects should be completed in time for footballand soccer games in the fall, but will bump some track events at both schools to Alder Creek in the spring.
August football practices can move to Alder Creek or to alternate fields on the Putnam campus.
We may use Alder Creek for early home games until the facility is complete. We are hoping we will not have to displace a football game by scheduling early games away. This will also apply to work at the Milwaukie High athletic facility.

Question: Milwaukie High has varsity baseball and JV baseball. Putnam High has varsity baseball and softball.
Answer: Milwaukie High actually has more fields than Putnam High does.

Ardenwald rebuild:
We plan to break ground in May on a new two-story school on the existing property.
The project goes before the Milwaukie planning commission on December 11.
Garry Kryszak has been to all neighborhood association meetings and feedback has been wonderful.
The neighborhood has received this well.

Bilquist major renovation:
Skanska construction will do the project. We will start work winter break.
We will add 4 new classrooms. We will remodel & expand the office.
A new media center will be created. Parking will be improved.
Every room will be substantially renovated. Skylights will be added.
The kitchen will be remodeled. A new resource area is included.
We are within budget on a very complex project, using a good contractor with an experienced staff. This will be a very disruptive project.
It should be finished by the end of summer.

Milwaukie High:
Emerick Construction will begin work on expanding the fine arts building.
This includes a new lobby in the arts center, a black box theater, & a new dance area.
For a reasonable amount of money we can add art rooms upstairs.

This is the first of two revisions we are recommending to the Board and the COC:
The addition of the second story on the performing arts center at MHS.

The first question was, should we just do the shell, and have this as unfinished space?
That seemed like an inefficient use of funds, so we recommend to the Board that we finish the project.
The cost is about half a million dollars—about half the cost per square foot of new construction to add this space. We are working very hard to keep these costs down.

The finishing of the shell project is not requiring additional contingency funds at this point.

In the whole scheme of things, we need to look at this as an entire project. There will be a lot of flux in terms of how much money ends up allocated for each project.

We feel far more sympathetic about adding to our older buildings –this makes good long-term sense—more sense than spending more on new buildings.

The girls locker room will be renovated and three new girls team rooms added. New rest rooms are being added off the gym lobby.
A lot of infrastructure and upgrade work is happening, including interior finish upgrades, exterior painting, mechanical and electrical upgrades.

Putnam High, major remodel:
This is our most complex and challenging project, with work done by Skanska Construction.
Work will start as school gets out in the summer of ’08.

Major work is planned to renovate science labs, create a commons, and replace flooring.
We will also re-locate the weight room, remodeling the kitchen and creating a commons.

This will be a two-year project that creates tremendous disruption, reconfiguring space in dramatic ways. To design it, we went through 25-30 plan revisions.

Putnam High will have a nice campus feeling when this is complete.
The school entrance will be more obvious.

Rowe Middle School:
Mahlum Architects designed this challenging project.
We plan a late spring start, and will be done by the end of summer 2009.
Emerick Construction will do the work.
We are expanding the gym to the north, making it the same size as the Happy Valley Middle School gym.

We will also add a new choir room, remodel the locker rooms, add an elevator to the upper gym, build a new entry, add a new bus drop, and improve parent drop off.

We will add fire sprinklers and get rid of hallway doors.

Work begins in the summer of ’08.

Clackamas Elementary:
We will add classroom sinks, lighting upgrades, and a new meeting room.

Spring Mountain:
Acoustical work is planned.

Sunnyside:
Replace cedar siding.
More renovations are planned.

Happy Valley #2, a new elementary school:
This will be a two-story, 61,000 square foot school.
It will be located near 172nd St. & Hagen Road, near the fire station.
The school has an open design, with an open media center area.
The gym and covered playground are at the back.
DOWA is the architect.

The land purchase is still in negotiation.
School will open in the fall of 2009.

Verne A. Duncan Elementary School, a new elementary school:
This will be located on 172nd St. close to Highway 212.
It is a two-story, 60,000 square foot structure.
Construction starts late in the summer of ’08.
The design process is a bit behind HV #2.
The media center is above the office.
The cafeteria has a large base kitchen.

We are building four elementary schools using four different architects, but there are tremendous similarities, ensuring quality and equity for all students: a standard size, gym size, media center size, classroom size, etc.

However, each school is unique.

Question: What is the footprint for this elementary school?
Answer: About 40,000 square feet.

There is potential for a community center on this site.

Rock Creek Middle School (a possible future high school):
This school will be built adjacent to a county park and the new elementary school.
It will be located between 162nd St. and 172nd St. about a quarter mile from Highway 212.

Question: How is this a potential high school?
Answer: This bond will not fund it. If growth continues as projected, a future bond could add onto this school in future years to make it a high school.

Question: What is the difference between a middle school and a high school?
Answer: 125,000 square feet for a middle school, and twice that size for a high school. To make the middle school into a high school, we would add a second story to the class wing areas and also expand the building.

This site is under strong consideration by Happy Valley and North Clackamas Parks and
Recreation to be the all weather field Happy Valley citizens were promised when they joined the
parks district.

Question: What is student capacity for the new middle school?
Answer: 750 ideally, 900 at maximum capacity.

The middle school will have one gym with a curtain down the middle so it could be 1 gym that seats 800. That is the new district standard for middle schools.

Proposed Boundary Changes Matt Utterback
Milwaukie & Clackamas attendance areas

In the Milwaukie High feeder system we will expand Ardenwald Elementary by 150 seats and build a second middle school in the Clackamas High feeder area. Proposed boundary changes will primarily impact elementary schools in the Milwaukie and Clackamas feeder areas, and east side middle schools.

Determining new boundaries will be a 20-month process coordinated by Assistant Superintendent Matt Utterback. The process will provide lots of opportunities for community input.

The Milwaukie High feeder system is currently more than 800 students under capacity.

We would like to have full-service elementary schools, with expanded nursing services, and a
full time counselor, PE teacher, music teacher and support services.

Whitcomb Elementary now has 6 portables.

Current numbers
2591 elementary students in the Milwaukie High feeder system
3400 is the total elementary capacity

We are now 809 students under capacity in this area, and losing about 50 students per year.

Over time, population studies show that school enrollment in this region will drop to about 2400.
We see no indication of population rebounding in this part of the school district.

Goals of the boundary re-alignment process include:

• Efficient, effective utilization of school facilities
• Making all elementaries full service schools
• Allocation of district funds in a fiscally responsible manner
• Maintaining the clean feeder system

Having a school of this size also allows for full-time specialists on staff, including counselors and music and physical education teachers.

Possibilities now being proposed include:

• closing Wichita Elementary as a neighborhood school
• eliminating portable classrooms at Whitcomb Elementary
• increasing Linwood Elementary’s capacity to 550
• sharing El Puente Bilingual School between 2 elementaries, as they will soon outgrow the space they have at Milwaukie Elementary.

One thing we are concerned about is the neighborhood component of Milwaukie elementary. If we take El Puente out of that building, it would leave a half empty school in the heart of Milwaukie.

Question: How would you divide El Puente?
Answer: We could split it grades K-3 and grades 4-6 as Oregon City has done with their bilingual school. Or we could make it two K-6 programs, each within a different elementary school, with one bilingual class in each grade level.

Splitting El Puente is an idea we have been discussing with that community over time.
It has been clear from the beginning that the school at full size will not fit at Milwaukie Elementary.

Question: How big will El Puente be when the program is at full capacity?
Answer: At full size, El Puente’s total enrollment will be 350.

Question: Is using the Wichita Building a possibility?
Answer: It’s problematic, because if we moved El Puente to Wichita, that would leave Ardenwald and Milwaukie Elementary significantly under capacity.

Question: What opportunities will there be for public involvement in this process?
Answer: We will establish a boundary committee of parents and staff from impacted school communities to consider the issues. There will also be public meetings with an opportunity for people to share their ideas and concerns.

Question: What happens to Wichita? Will it be sold?
Answer: We do not know at this point. Possibly it can remain in use as a facility to serve other needs in the community.

In the Putnam feeder area, we are considering whether to move the Island Station neighborhood
to the Milwaukie attendance area, because Island Station is within the city limits of Milwaukie.

Question: If we bring elementary schools to full service status, will this work for the schools that house El Puente?
Answer: Specialists work by classroom, so this is not an issue. The two groups would share a counselor, a music teacher, and a physical education teacher.

Timeline for Boundary Changes:

Between now and February we are working on enrollment projections.
A district boundary committee of about 25 people will include parent representatives from the 15 impacted elementary and middles schools, along with staff members. Our goal is to have that group make a preliminary recommendation to the Board by June.

In September/October of 2008, we will have public meetings to take feedback on the draft plan.

In November of 2008, the committee will make final recommendations to the Board.

In December 2008, the School Board will take action on this issue.

In January 2009, we will notify parents of boundary changes.

In September 2009, the new school boundaries will be implemented.

Linwood Addition Ron Naso
Schedule Changes at Wichita & Sabin Ron Stewart

The Linwood Elementary project will include a gymnasium addition and a new media center, plus work in the office area. External walkways will be enclosed, to create a safer, closed campus. We will re-route the school bus drop along Linwood Road.

The original building plans for Linwood included another pod of 4 classrooms for this school. In the last bond there was one such pod added.

Now we want to put the final pod in place to make this school the way it was originally meant to be, serving 550 students. The cost of four added classrooms is about $1 million.

What we recommend to the Citizens Oversight Committee and the Board that we place the Wichita renovations on hold for one year until we know the future of that building.

We will recommend adding the 4-classroom pod to the work planned for Linwood this summer.

Question: How old is Linwood Elementary?
Answer: The Linwood facility is the newest facility on the west side, built in the late 1960s. We don’t want to lose faith with what was promised in the bond, but we also need to keep faith with the district’s overall, long-term needs.

Issue: In the meeting with the Wichita community, we promised them improvements.
Response: If we spend $1 million to complete that work, improvements would be utilized for only one year before the boundary change occurs.

Question: Aren’t the planned renovations at Wichita mainly cosmetic?
Answer: In the 1998 bond, we took care of the critical health and safety issues such as restrooms and flooring.

Ron Naso noted that we must not say that the Wichita money gets “moved” to Linwood. We may decide down the road to go ahead and invest that money in the site for another purpose, such as a community center.

We are working to maintain a neighborhood school system as we consider school size and boundary decisions. Elementary children should be able to attend a school near their home.

Another concern is the development that will occur along 82nd Ave. with the new projects at the Town Center and Light Rail. This may become a mixed-use area with condominiums or other housing. That could bring enrollment pressure on Whitcomb and Linwood.

The real issue for Wichita is this: Is this building on a site we want to invest in? This site has a very real problem: it is located on a busy street, a main road, and has a small site size with limited parking. This school would have been on the school replacement list, but we could not fit a replacement school on the campus while maintaining operations at the school.

Where we need classroom space is at the east end of the Milwaukie area.

Question: Is there any possibility that there could be another funding source for the Linwood project? Perhaps a bond to be repaid by the excise tax?
Answer: That would be a challenge given how we have commitment to use those funds.

Question: Could the $13 million in contingencies cover the Linwood expansion?
Answer: Yes. That would have to be a Board decision.

The abin scope of work included ‘renovate building to accommodate new/expanded programs.”
Preliminary visioning for the Sabin site came in at twice the budgeted amount. While we could work hard to cut the vision down to the budget, the district is proposing that we place the Sabin project on hold for one year and assess whether we have additional contingency funds available
for this project to be able to come closer to accomplishing the vision for the program.

Ginny Markell is concerned about the delay and how staff there will perceive it.

 It seems more prudent to wait and know better where we are with contingency funds to see whether we could invest more in this project. This was explained to staff, and there was no negative reaction to the proposed delay.

Some Citizens Oversight Committee members are opposed to placing the Wichita improvements on hold for a year. Others are OK with that decision.

Some Citizens Oversight Committee members are opposed to the addition at Linwood. Others are OK with that decision.

Waiting on the Wichita improvements allows us to consider what could be done with this site— making it a youth center or a full day kindergarten center or a community center, etc.

Superintendent Ron Naso requested feedback on four items from the COC:

Motion to recommend that we add an additional pod at Linwood:
8 in favor
2 against

Motion to recommend that we place the improvements to Wichita on hold for 1 year:
8 in favor
2 opposed

Motion to recommend that we place the improvement project for Sabin on hold for 1 year to facilitate the recommended improvements to meet educational goals:
10 in favor
0 opposed

Motion to recommend that we add a second floor to the performing arts center at MHS:
10 in favor
0 opposed

Administrative Center Ron Naso

For the information of the committee, the district is proposing a new administrative center, currently spread between six sites. A 23,000 square foot office building would be built on the North Sabin campus.

We had budgeted $1 million in the bond for the renovation of our current office. We would propose applying that amount to the construction of a new site. We propose selling the current administrative building and using those funds to pay for part of the new facility. The remainder would be funded through a capital loan and energy incentives.

We hope to complete the building by spring break 2009.

The new facility would be more centrally located, but still on the west side of the district.

Set next meeting date Ron Naso

At the next meeting we will highlight just what’s new. We will meet the 3rd Wednesday in February: February 20th, at 6:30 p.m. in the district Board Room.

Report to the Community Dick Jones

After reviewing the draft report to the community, COC members are invited to feed ideas to Dick, Ginny, and Renee by Thanksgiving. Leslie Robinette will work with the group to edit the report and create a reader-friendly format. This might include a letter to the community, a photograph, and a side bar with key details or a pie chart.

Meeting adjourned: 9:20 p.m.