 |
 Building
Projects Home Summary
of Building Projects Project
Timelines Financial Picture |
| What's
New? FAQs Citizen's Oversight Committee Green Buildings Bond History |
Frequently Asked QuestionsQuestions and Answers 2006 Bond Questions and AnswersThese questions were asked and answered at community meetings, through emails, and phone conversations.. Updated May 2010 Pick a category If you have a question or a rumor, write to krumm@nclack.k12.or.us ________________________________ 1. Is the bond for facilities only? Or also operations? By law, bond proceeds must go for facilities only. That includes the renovation and addition to buildings. Bond proceeds cannot be spent on the operation of the school district. 2. What happens to students while their schools are renovated or re-built? Each of the sites where rebuilding will occur is large enough to have the new school under construction while the students remain in the old school building. Schools with major renovation projects will try to do as much work as possible during the spring break and summer, when schools are not in session. Every effort will be made not to disrupt student learning. 3. Will the replacement schools be the same size as what they replace? The district standard for new elementary schools is for them to have enrollments of 550 students, the optimal size for academics and cost efficiency. Each of the new schools is planned for that size. 4. What's the plan for Wichita Elementary? Will you continue to look at changing demographics in the Wichita neighborhood? Wichita Elementary has become the Wichita Center for Families and Community. It provides services for families and children, as well as a home the district’s Community Services program. 6. When will the next bond proposal be up for a vote? The district would probably need to consider another bond until at least 2014 and more likely much later to address remaining renovation needs and future growth. The 2006 bond addressed only about a third of the issues in the district's aging schools. 7. What is the plan for all-weather fields? The first all-weather field in the district was installed in the stadium field at Alder Creek Middle School, formerly a high school campus. This was accomplished through a partnership with North Clackamas Parks & Recreation. This centrally-located facility was developed wand is available for use by all district schools and youth sports groups. The field was not developed specifically for Alder Creek Middle School and was not funded by the 2006 bond.Using a combination of bond funds and community contributions, the district installed all-weather fields at Clackamas High, Milwauikie High, and Rex Putnam High. All three of these are now in use by students, school athletic teams, and community sports groups. North Clackamas Parks and Recreation is a partner in the creation and use of the fields at Milwaukie High and Putnam High. 8. What will the capacity of CHS be in the future? Will this bond raise the capacity to 3200? The school will need to accommodate as many as 2,700 kids before the district could consider expanding one of the new middle schools become our fourth high school. Meanwhile, under the bond plan, Clackamas High students would use both Clackamas High and the current Sunrise Middle School campus, after middle school students are moved to their new schools. 9. What's the long-term plan for schools in our community? The total need for the district at this point is $615 million, the majority of which is needed on the Westside for renovation and replacement to make sure all schools can last the next 30-50 years. The bond must respond to the most urgent needs at this time. That includes life and safety needs for west side schools and a desk for all east side students in high-growth areas. In future bonds over the next 20-30 years, the other Westside needs will be met. In this bond as now configured, growth funds are weighted to the eastside, but the Westside received the vast majority of the funds for renovation. 10. Will bond funds be used for administrative facilities? The 2006 bond has $1 million to support some improvement to administrative facilities. This money has not been spent as of spring 2010. 11. Will bond projects impact the traffic situation for pickup/dropoff at larger elementary schools? All schools have about a 20-minute window twice a day when a great number of parents converge on the school for drop-off or pickup. It can be frustrating. Some consider it inefficient, however, to purchase and maintain several added acres so that there is adequate parking or traffic routing opportunities during this time. Furthering the situation are regional planners who are encouraging school districts to build schools using less area than has been used traditionally. 12. Why did we replace Ardenwald? Shouldn't we have kept a historic building? Rebuilding Ardenwald ensured that there is a school to serve the Ardenwald neighborhood for the next 30 to 50 years. This will make for the safest building possible as the school will meet all current codes, including seismic codes (very difficult to meet in an 80-year-old building). The original Ardenwald School was built before seismic codes were instituted. The cost to increase student capacity to 550 and meet all renovation and safety needs at Ardenwald Elementary School exceeded 96% the cost of new school construction. For this reason, the board decided that building a new school in place of the old was the most cost effective way to ensure a facility that would continue to serve the community for the next 50 years. The idea of gutting the building and putting in a new interior would mean that students would need to be moved to another school while construction is completed. Architects are working with community members to make sure that the historic look of the current building is recognized in the new school. No gutting process would create a school at the same safety, energy and educational standards of a new building. With a new school, the district can purchase new computers for the school using bond funds. This would be illegal under a major renovation. The complete replacement of the building to meet 30 year standards would ensure the building meets current codes for
The new school will include:
13. Will Sunrise be used as a middle school? After the two new middle schools are built, the Sunrise campus will be used as an extension of Clackamas High School. 14. When will the middle school students leave the Sunrise campus? In the fall of 2009, we moved roughly half of the Sunrise student population to the Happy Valley Middle School. In the fall of 2010, we'll move the remaining Sunrise students to our second new middle school. Both schools will have a capacity of 750. _________________________ Price, Process, and Alternative Approaches 1. Does cost per thousand take into account new houses being built? Yes. However, the initial cost per thousand could go down with the additions to the assessed value over time. 2. Can builders share in the cost of new buildings? Under SB 1036, approved in June by the Oregon Legislature, school districts are authorized to put in place an excise tax on new development. North Clackamas was first school district to implement the tax,. The tax would be $1 per square foot on residential construction and 50 cents per square foot on non-residential construction. For non-residential construction only, the excise tax is limited to $25,000 per building permit or $25,000 per structure, whichever is less. The excise revenue allows the district to purchase and prepare sites for future schools, and/or to help defray the cost of new school facilities. While the Construction Excise Tax does not provide all funds needed to completely address the impact from development, it certainly will help. 3. Can the parks district partner with us on some facilities? Yes. The Parks District and NC12 is a partner on several projects. The projects increase community use of district fields while sharing the cost with the Parks District.
4. Is there a bid process for bond projects? The process for selecting contractors varies under Oregon law, depending on the size of the contract. However, all the selection options require the district to publicly advertise the contract, and require contractors to submit competitive sealed bid proposals. 5. Would we be able to give money back if things go very well in the bids? Legally, the district could return funds if they are not used. The district has promised to do this with any unused portions of the bond. 6. How many bonds do we have out currently, and when do they expire? How long to they last? There are two bonds out currently. Bonds typically last 20 years. The 1991 bond will end in 2010 and the 1998 bond will end in 2017. These two bonds currently create a charge of less than $1 per $1,000 assessed or taxable value. This amount will continue to go down as the community grows so that folks new to the community will pay their share of the cost. 7. How much in taxes is being raised on the east side vs. the west side? As the growth continues, the area east of Interstate 205 will grow to be equal or greater in tax proceeds when compared to the west side. 8. Is there interest income from the bond? How will it be used? As anticipated, the school district received significant interest income from the bond. As planned, these funds will be used to ensure that we can fully implement bond projects that were promised to voters. 9. Have anticipated increases in construction costs been taken into account? Yes. The cost estimates for each project are based on the costs expected in 2010. 10. Is there data that shows the value of new homes and how much that contributes to school funding? New homes help pay off bonds, but they do not mean more money for school operations. In Oregon, schools receive the same amount of money for each student. So, the state adjusts all funding sources (income taxes, property taxes, lottery, other funds) to equal the same amount for each child. _________________________ 1. How will we fund operations at new schools if the bond passes? Operations are supported through state and local funding. That includes income taxes, lottery fundsand property taxes. The state Legislature determines how much each district receives on a per student basis. As the district increases enrollment, it receives more money. 2. If we have a 6.5 earthquake, how would older schools like Concord hold up? All of our buildings were evaluated for seismic issues prior to the 1998 bond. Most one-story wood-frame and concrete buildings are predicted to do fairly well in an earthquake. Un-reinforced brick buildings are the problem. We spent a considerable amount of money at Milwaukie High. Concord Elementary and Riverside Elementary to reinforce the brick at these schools. Even though the newest code is more stringent than ever, the buildings built since 1989 are all predicted to do very well in a large quake. Mount Scott, Oregon Trail, Sunrise, Clackamas High, Spring Mountain, plus any addition to an existing building built since that time. Keep in mind that all of our older buildings from the 50's, 40's, and 30's and 20's have all survived several earthquakes. They will likely do as well in future earthquakes. The building replacement theory completely solves the seismic issue because it insures the replacement school will be totally up to the latest codes. The district would not be wasting money attempting to bring an old building up to code, which is not totally possible for any older building. From a seismic perspective, this is a very good utilization of building renovation resources. 3. What's the minimum/maximum class size for a 550-student school? Class size has little and usually nothing to do with building size. The biggest factor in class size is state funding and whether there is enough support for district operations. 4. Does school size impact student performance? There are arguments across the spectrum on this subject. The district has seen very successful schools of all sizes. 5. Does the state provide any funding for school districts to cope with growth? The state has provided support for districts that pass bonds to help with costs beyond construction. Currently schools receive up to 8 percent additional from the state. 6. What happened to the land at Altamont? The district continues to own a parcel there. It was a gift from the developer of the area, though the district had to pay substantial charges to obtain it. There was a sign on the site that said it is a future home of an elementary school. This sign was not put up by the school district. There is land next door owned by the North Clackamas Parks District. The two parcels together are large enough for an elementary school. There are no plans to build on this site at this time. The growth of the community is mostly concentrated around 172nd Avenue and beyond. 7. How much maintenance does the district have? How come the bond items are not covered with regular maintenance? The district has 24 maintenance employees for more than 30 buildings and their grounds: 5 in Building and Structures, 9 in Utility/HVAC/electrical/mechanical, and 10 in grounds. As with one's home, one can do maintenance every year. For example, one might do a few hundred dollars maintenance on the roof each year. That's what the district operating budget does. But, when it comes to replacing the roof after 30 years, most homeowners need to take out a loan. That is what the bond does. A $500,000 new school roof at one school is a lot more than the operating budget of about $110 million can absorb. All the district's maintenance does not hold off the major upgrades and renovations listed in the bond proposal. 8. What is the district doing to protect kids from the construction workers? Are they doing background tests on the workers?” The Most of the major construction work is done in contained (fenced and signed) construction areas that are not accessible to students or staff. As a rule, Districts do not do background checks on contractors unless they have direct unsupervised contact with children (beyond incidental passing in the hallway) Typically, contractors schedule thier work in the building after school hours, but contractors need to wear identification when working in the building. Contractors do not use the school restrooms. They have thier own restrooms. Contractors do not hav an opportunity to be alone with children. If a contractor is in the building when students are present, teachers and support staff are supervising the students.
9. Lead in Turf Talking Points: _________________________
1. Why does the school district need property? The school district must purchase six new school sites to accommodate our growing student population, responding to the needs of our community, who voted to support a bond levy to purchase the additional properties for the new schools. 2. What does the school district consider when looking for property? The school district must consider many factors when selecting property: overcrowding situations in existing schools; the location of new housing developments; roads, zoning, land-use, and transportation restrictions and requirements; utilities; topography; wetlands; soil conditions; plus size and configuration of the land. Besides land for the school building, the district must plan for needed playgrounds and athletic fields, which are used by both students and community members. The district first looks for all properties that are for sale before looking for properties that are not for sale. In addition, the district will seek to work with willing sellers before being forced to negotiate with less-than-willing sellers. Eminent domain is a law that gives government the right to purchase property needed for public use, providing the owner with fair compensation. This process uses the courts as the independent, 3rd party to help arrive at a binding fair agreement. Eminent Domain (condemnation) is a legal, constitutional process where the government can, if necessary for public use, purchase personal property for “just compensation.” 4. Why is the school district pursuing eminent domain? The school district must balance the interests of the taxpayer and the property owner as it pursues the purchase of land that would best serve as a school site. Again, it is the district’s interest and desire to purchase suitable property that is for sale or purchase property from willing sellers, before using this process. 5. What is the process to acquire properties? Ideally, the district works through several steps to acquire the property it needs. First a district representative meets with the landowner to discuss the purchase. If the property is suitable, the district will offer the full appraised value as provided by a licensed independent appraiser. The next step is negotiation, followed by mediation if needed to reach a fair agreement. If necessary, the district may use binding arbitration (also known as eminent domain) to help arrive at a fair agreement. This process uses the courts as the independent third party to help arrive at a binding fair agreement. When the district files for condemnation, the district offers (as required by law and at district expense) an independent third-party relocation service to help the owners find suitable housing and assistance with moving. Throughout the process of eminent domain, the district works to minimize disrupting the lives of citizens as we expand school facilities to meet the needs of a growing student population. This process can be difficult, and the district works to be professional, sensitive, respectful, and considerate. 6. How is a fair price for the property determined? The school district relies on independent third parties to help determine a price that is fair to the property owner and the taxpayer. The third parties include independent licensed property appraisers, independent mediators, and the court system.
|
| Copyright | Site Map | Contact |