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Tax plan supports new schools Eagle Point needs new buildings By Vicki Guarino EAGLE POINT � With 700 more students than its buildings can accommodate and more students on the way, the school district has launched a $34 million building program. In the next couple of weeks, voters will decide whether plans can proceed. The district is asking the community to support a 20-year tax plan on the Nov. 7 ballot to pay for new schools and school additions in White City, Eagle Point and Shady Cove. Maggie Groves, one of the campaigners for the ballot measure, says the work is long overdue. "It�s beyond time," Groves says. Although the measure addresses students� needs, one of the most frequent comments she hears relates not to classroom space but road space. The construction is expected to resolve daily traffic jams in the center of Eagle Point. The problem is that three of the district�s schools are clustered near two major intersections in the center of town. The morning combination of bus, pedestrian and commuter traffic through the intersections and across the Little Butte Creek bridge cause long and frustrating delays. And in bad weather, when more kids ride than walk, it�s even worse. "Forget about it if it�s raining," says Groves. So as Groves goes through the district, campaigning for the $34 million bond measure, most comments she hears not only are positive, but sound a note of relief that there is an end in sight to the traffic jams. Traffic would be eased by a combination of plans, including construction of a junior high in White City and expanding capacity of one of White City�s two elementary schools. Also, a small junior high program in Shady Cove would be expanded, and new classroom space for the program would be constructed. The result would be fewer students from outlying communities busing in to Eagle Point for school. Also, a new building would replace Eagle Point Junior High, an aging building with numerous and serious safety and structural problems. The present school would be torn down. The Eagle Point district�s elementary schools will grow one grade smaller and will be expanded to solve severe crowding problems. For years the district has resorted to portable buildings � many old and substandard � for class space. The district proposes building an elementary school to eliminate the portables. The plan also sets out financing for a new high school gym to ease crowding and scheduling problems. The building plan is expected to accommodate the 4,000-student district for at least the next four years, when enrollment is expected to rise to 4,350. Population forecasts suggest the enrollment will increase by 1,101 to 1,407 students in the next 10 years. If voters approve the measure, it would create a new property tax of $2.74 per $1,000 assessed valuation. The tax measure would be paid off over 21 years. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.