La Grande School District has rare opportunity, according to bond supporters

Apr. 9—LA GRANDE — Supporters of the La Grande School District hope that regional history repeats itself next month.

La Grande School District voters will be determining the fate of a proposed $4.854 million bond in the May 17 mail election. The bond would help pay for the construction of a new academic and athletic center that would replace the aging Annex building just outside La Grande Middle School. If voters approve Measure 31-105, the La Grande School District will receive a $4 million Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching program grant from the state to help fund the construction of the new building.

Suzy Mayes, a retired educator who is co-chair of the bond's political action committee, Citizens for School Renovation, notes that school district patrons would essentially be getting a 2-for-1 bargain, paying for a bond and getting a matching grant almost worth the same amount at no cost.

"It is a no-brainer, you will double your investment," Mayes said during a Bond Information Night session at Central Elementary School on Thursday, April 7.

Similar 2-for-1 opportunities proved too good for voters to pass up in the Imbler, North Powder, Union, Enterprise and Wallowa school districts between 2010 and 2021. Voters passed bonds for capital construction when the state guaranteed each school district a matching grant of between $3-$4 million.

Not once did voters in Union or Wallowa counties reject a bond when there was a matching grant during this span. In many cases, the bonds passed overwhelmingly. The Imbler bond, for example, passed in 2010 with 75% support, and in 2019 in Union, its bond won with 66% voter support.

"This shows that everyone has been benefiting from it. We should be able to benefit as well," said Robin Jolin, a La Grande School District parent.

The 2-for-1 bargain is not the only thing Measure 31-105 has going for it. Passage of the proposed bond would not raise tax rates of the district's property owners because of the recent refinancing of the 20-year, $31.5-million bond voters approved in 2014 in the La Grande School District for capital construction and maintenance.

This means that the $1.93 tax rate per $1,000 of accessed property value now being paid for school district bond taxes will remain the same if Measure 31-105 passes.

"Your tax rate will stay the same," La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza said during a Bond Information Night presentation April 5 at Greenwood Elementary School.

The superintendent also noted that the length of time taxpayers will be making bond payments will remain the same whether or not Measure 31-105 passes. This means payment will be made by taxpayers through 2035.

Should the measure fail, property owners in the La Grande School District would see their taxes drop 28 cents to $1.65 per $1,000 of assessed property value because they would be paying only for the refinanced $31.5 million bond, meaning the owner of a $150,000 home would be paying $42 less a year in property taxes and the owner of a $200,000 home would be spending $56 dollars less a year in taxes, Mendoza said.

Two buildings long past their prime

Passage of the bond would not only mean the Annex would be replaced, but also the district's maintenance, facilities and grounds structure — built in 1911 — would also be torn down. The district's maintenance, facilities and grounds services would be moved to a 10,500-square-foot space the school district would rent on Adams Avenue at the Adams Professional Plaza.

Mayes said this move is needed because of the poor condition of the current maintenance facility.

However, most of the focus at Bond Information Night sessions has been on the need to replace the aging Annex building, which features a full-size gym that is used extensively by the school district, especially La Grande Middle School, and for community athletic activities.

Mendoza said the Annex gym is often used from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on weekdays for physical education classes and school district athletic programs. Nonprofit community organizations, which the district allows to use the facility for no cost, often cannot use the Annex until 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. Plans call for the proposed new building to have two gyms, which would greatly ease the log-jam demand for space.

Mayes noted that the proposed new academic and athletic center would meet Americans with Disabilities Act accessible standards, a plus since the Annex, close to 100 years old, is hard for people with mobility issues to get into.

"That in itself is a huge reason why we should replace the building," said Mayes, who served as principal of Central Elementary School for seven years before retiring at the end of June 2021.

She does not believe the school district should continue spending money to maintain the aging Annex building.

"We are at that point where it is not sufficient to keep putting band-aids on it," Mayes said.

Mendoza said this may not be an ideal time to seek the bond because of issues like inflation, yet there is now a rare opportunity due to the availability of the state matching grant.

"Now is the time we have the opportunity to move forward," he said.

The superintendent stressed that if voters decide not to take advantage of the 2-for-1 deal, there's no guarantee the district would be awarded future Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching grants because school districts have to compete for them. He also noted that there's no guarantee the state will continue the matching grant program.

Long a topic of conversation

Mayes said that discussions of replacing the Annex gym have been going on for decades because of its poor condition.

"It can't happen soon enough," she said, adding the gym is drafty and can get so cold that some people wear gloves inside the building.

Mayes said the school district is fortunate to have the opportunity to pass a bond that is guaranteed a matching grant and would not raise the current tax rate.

"It seems like all the stars have lined up for the perfect scenario," she said.

Ballots for the by-mail election will be sent out by the Union County Clerk's Office on April 27 and must be returned by May 17.

Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer primarily covering the communities of North Powder, Imbler, Island City and Union, education, Union County veterans programs and local history. Dick joined The Observer in 1983, first working as a sports and outdoors reporter.