Gervais School District faces closure unless voters approve bond measure
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Recent cuts to local school budgets have become increasingly common in Oregon, but money troubles are now putting one district at risk of completely closing.
Gervais School District in Marion County could be forced to close its doors if voters don’t approve a bond measure to raise $28 million next month. The state would offer additional funds as well.
But if it fails, the board will have to shut down the district in 2025.
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Gervais High School and the district’s elementary school desperately need new roofs, and heating and cooling repairs are long overdue. A middle school building doesn’t exist. Around 200 students attend classes in two portables with no science classrooms, no cafeteria or library, and only two restrooms.
Gervais taxpayers have repeatedly voted no on a bond that would change these circumstances.
Superintendent Dandy Stevens said it has been difficult to help property owners understand these expenses are usually not paid with state money. Instead, it’s up to local communities to raise taxes through a bond.
“We’re over eight. We’ve tried eight times since 1999 to pass a bond,” Stevens said. “This will be number nine.”
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The bond would have property owners pay $1.85 more per $1,000 worth of property value – less than $500 dollars a year for a home worth $250,000. It’s a lower rate than in nearby cities.
Property owners would have to pay those rates if students went to another school district, and sending almost 900 students to nearby districts would also mean long bus rides and a loss of community.
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