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Central Point approves $29.8 million school bond Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Central Point Elementary School fourth-grader Michael Anchors loads up on signs during a break from marching through Central Point with his classmates urging people to vote Tuesday morning. Last-minute voter drives like this are credited with passing a $29.8 million school bond measure that required a 50 percent turnout. Central Point�s turnout was 54.7 percent, according to final, unofficial results. By Vicki Guarino CENTRAL POINT � The third time was the charm for jubilant school district supporters. After two defeats at the polls, the district Tuesday passed a $29.8 million rebuilding plan. The win came in a vote of 5,301 to 2,685, with 54.7 percent of voters participating, according to Jackson County Elections Office final, unofficial returns. The district handily cleared both ballot hurdles, the double majority requirement of winning with at least half of registered voters participating. "Well, that�s awesome," said school board chairman Dick Dunn. "It has been a long time coming." Board member Kerry Bradshaw, who spent part of the early evening at the district office watching voter returns on the Internet with campaign volunteers and school administrators, said the crowd was grateful for the victory. "We�re very excited and very thankful to this community," Bradshaw said. He said success came only in the last hours of polling, as hundreds of ballots poured in. He credited last-minute efforts, including a telephone campaign, with bringing out ballots. "I think the support was there, but a lot of people just laid their ballots down and simply forgot about them," Bradshaw said. Also, he and Dunn credited a strong public education effort. Dunn said, "I think people are becoming more knowledgeable about what the needs are." The 1908 Central Point Elementary School is in poor condition and will be replaced. The original brick portion of the school will be renovated for administration offices. Moving administration, as well as buses, will allow for a 10-classroom expansion to an overcrowded Crater High School. Students have had to be on waiting lists for required courses because the school has run out of space to hold classes. An overcrowded Mae Richardson Elementary School will be expanded, and the 1910 Hanby Middle School in Gold Hill will be renovated, expanded and modernized. Construction is expected to begin next spring or summer. Bond supporters were not only happy but much relieved by the vote, which resolves building problems that had been stalemated by two ballot defeats in 1998. "We had come to a point where we didn�t know what we were going to do if this hadn�t passed," Dunn said. He said the district�s efforts to trim building plans to a minimum, slicing $7 million from the 1998 proposal, might have prompted the win. Word of victory spread fast through the education community Tuesday night. "They really deserve this," Medford schools Superintendent Steve Wisely said. "I am so tickled about the facilities issue." In the 1960s, Wisely was principal of Central Point Elementary. He said the schools� victory was not only good for Central Point district communities, but perhaps signals renewed pride in local schools and students throughout the county. He hoped the vote translates to support for other school districts that will be going to voters in November with construction levy measures. Eagle Point, Phoenix-Talent and Rogue River have construction plans awaiting voter approval. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA