Residents of Douglas County will vote May 19th on a $94 million dollar bond to improve the safety and security of Roseburg Schools. Voter sentiment was high, before Coronavirus.
Roseburg Public Schools Superintendent Jared Cordon says the board considered tabling the bond, but voted unanimously to leave it on the ballot. “Quite frankly," he says, "I think the issues around safety and security, if anything, have probably been exacerbated with this Covid pandemic.”
If passed, the measure would pay for renovations and repairs and fund five elementary school gyms that would also serve as community shelters. It would add an average 63 cent tax per one thousand dollars assessed property value. Cordon acknowledges economic uncertainty, but says, “There seems to be people that feel like they need to do something to make things better, whether that be for our kids, or the community generally. So I think there’s some people that feel like this is a way to do that.”
Cordon says bonds for facilities can be successful when a community galvanizes around an idea.
Information about the bond levy can be found here.
