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Eagle Point schools need millions Photo by Bob Pennell From left, Brisa Guidotti, Kaily Smith, Garrett Keetley and the rest of Roger Smith's 22 third-graders are crammed into a half-classroom in one of the Little Butte School's temporary modular buildings. A community committee studying the state of Eagle Point district schools is recommending a $33 million bond measure for new schools and improvements. District panel recommends $33 million bond By VICKI GUARINO EAGLE POINT -- A gym that must be evacuated in 4 inches of snow. Stuffy portable classrooms that were old when the school district bought them 30 years ago. Electrical circuits that sizzle when students log onto computers. Across its four communities, the Eagle Point School District struggles with schools that are crowded and aging. The remedy? Tear down, build anew, renovate and expand. Those are the recommendations of a community committee that has been meeting since late last fall to assess and solve school building shortcomings throughout the 4,000-student district, from White City to Trail. The committee was named by the Eagle Point School Board in preparation for a possible construction bond vote in the fall. The entire package of proposed improvements would cost an estimated $33 million. The committee recommends four new schools, additions at other schools, and reorganization of the two-year junior high program to a sixth- through eighth-grade middle school system -- a set-up popular in other districts for educational reasons. "It is quite a bit of money," committee member Jeri Marlia acknowledged Thursday, "but we haven't done anything for the schools for the past 25 years -- not since the high school was built." From Eagle Point High School, which is nearing capacity, to the oldest sections of the junior high, which building officials have nearly condemned, district school buildings need modernizing, the 22-member committee agreed. The study in Eagle Point is similar to work going on in the Central Point and Phoenix-Talent school districts. All three, responsible for more than 11,000 students, are studying building needs with an eye on the November ballot. A Phoenix-Talent committee is recommending $16 million in improvements for that district's 2,800 students. Plans are still under study in Central Point, where $30-million-plus bond measures have failed twice before voters. Mindful of those efforts, Marlia said, "I think it's time for the people of Jackson County to take a stand and help our kids. "This is a great place to live; let's all band together and make it a great place for our kids to go to school." In Eagle Point, some schools need more space for growing numbers of students. Several district schools already exceed capacity, with nearly 400 students in portable rooms. Enrollment is expected to grow by 400-500 within five years. Many of the portable, modular classrooms are about 30 years old, district finance director Mark Sorensen said. "And we didn't get them new." Other schools have significant fire, health and safety problems. And across the street, the Eagle Point Junior High School gym roof is unsound, inspectors have warned the district. The gym must be evacuated on windy and snowy days. The structure, moved from the U.S. Army's Camp White after World War II, was built in a manner that makes renovation prohibitively expensive, engineers have concluded. In all, the group offers up numerous recommendations and options. The committee's 15-page report on problems and proposed solutions was delivered to the Eagle Point School Board on Wednesday. The board is expected next to study the plan, hold public forums and possibly decide this spring whether to go to voters in November so that work can begin, Sorensen said. Accompanying the committee recommendations were results of a public survey indicating strong support for the proposal. Sorensen said the professionally conducted telephone survey showed 53 percent of participants saying they would vote for the $33 million package. Specifically, the money would buy: An elementary school for 300-350 students, with removal of portable classrooms at Glenn D. Hale, Little Butte and Mountain View elementary schools; $7 million estimated cost. Three middle schools -- in White City, Eagle Point and Shady Cove -- with demolition of the present Eagle Point Junior High; estimated cost is $1 million in Shady Cove, and $9 million each for larger schools in White City and Eagle Point. A new gym at the high school to relieve scheduling delays due to overcrowding; $2 million. Additional permanent classrooms at Mountain View, White City; $2 million. Improvements for fire safety, electrical upgrades, plumbing repairs and other improvements; about $2.4 million. Financing and bond costs, $600,000. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA