In November, voters in the Glide School District will decide whether to take on a new bond at the same rate as an expiring one.
The rural district, east of Roseburg, serves about 750 students, and has one of the largest footprints of any school district in the state of Oregon.
Superintendent Robert Freeman said Glide’s deteriorating middle school closed in 2014 because of maintenance issues, and that 7th to 12th graders have been sharing a building ever since. He said constructing a middle school is one of the primary goals of the bond. The other main focus is on the K-6 campus.
“At the elementary school, we have a single gym,” Freeman told KLCC. “And that gym not only houses our PE department, but it also is where our cafeteria is. So, when students are eating breakfast and lunch, our PE classes can't access that facility.”
Funds from the bond would cover construction of a new cafeteria and multipurpose space, as well as a new, single-entry office area at the front of the building.
Freeman said the 20-year, $16.5 million bond would cost property owners 91 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, the same as an expiring bond from 2007. If it passes, the state would contribute a $6.1 million grant.
