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Rogue River school plan scaled down By Vicki Guarino ROGUE RIVER -- With two election defeats against them, school officials are looking at a new and far less expensive way to renovate and repair old school buildings. Gone is a $15.5 million plan from 1997 to build a new middle school and overhaul other buildings. The Rogue River School Board now is considering a $5.3 million plan to redo roofs, flooring and ventilation and to make minor additions. The board is to decide whether to put a bond measure on the November ballot to finance the proposal. Board members will be seeking public comment on the proposal at a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. May 16 in the Rogue River High School library. The new plan is the work of a six-member committee that started from scratch this school year to come up with a way to update Rogue River's four schools. Problems ranged from leaking roofs to substandard classrooms and building ventilation. "We basically started over," committee member Trayce Tharpe said Wednesday. "We didn't take the other bond and start cutting." The committee toured each school and discussed building needs with each principal. But the committee seemed to be in agreement from the beginning that their proposal had to be modest to stand a chance with voters. "We realized that with the failure of the last two bond measures, our community just wasn't going to pass something on a grand scale," Tharpe said. In 1997, Rogue River voters rejected a $15.5 million plan that included a new middle school, administration office and maintenance building, plus major repairs and additions at other schools. In 1998, voters rejected a $12.86 million plan that trimmed some costs but retained the major projects. The new plan contains detailed plans for each school. Evans Valley Elementary would get $755,275 for projects that include: remodeled cafeteria, bathrooms, speech room access and basement classroom; new classroom, windows, gym floor, driveway and access ramps. Rogue River Elementary would get $465,215 for projects that include new windows; upgraded classrooms and electric system; remodeled bathrooms; paved playground. Rogue River Middle School would get $1,864,569 for projects that include: remodeled lockers, cafeteria, library and bathrooms; new roof, six classrooms and parking lot; upgraded play area. Rogue River High School would get $2,161,204 for projects that include: new roof, cafeteria and gym floor; improved heating and ventilation systems. "I really believe we have a reasonable request," Tharpe said. "I'm optimistic." The biggest change in the proposal is the abandonment of plans for a new middle school. Tharpe said committee members agreed that there is much about the building that still is usable and worth saving. Although mindful of the bottom line, Tharpe said, committee members also wanted to propose plans that would be sufficient to serve the community and maintain school buildings for 15 years or more. "I think this time, what we're requesting is reasonable," Tharpe said. "This will make our buildings viable for at least the life of the bond." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA