Document text
Crowded campuses By Kaylee Tornay of the Mail Tribune Jul 02, 2019 05:28 PM A A 2 View all photos The future for the Medford School District, from its size to its career and technical education programs, spells growth. Growth, however, comes with questions: How do you fit everyone in, and where do you put them? Those questions involve not just money, but also priorities. Space isn’t the sole factor. Utility and long-term adaptability to ever-changing educational needs must be considered. And when it comes to bringing those questions to voters in a bond measure, the district doesn’t want to see another failure like it did in May 2018 . “It was pretty clear that there was some last-minute resistance internally and externally that was a surprise to us,” said Brad Earl, chief operations officer for the Medford School District, in reference to the $25 million bond that Medford voters rejected. “And so we just wanted to find out, what are we not getting? What are we not understanding about what the community wants us to do?” District officials continue to seek answers through the work of committees and contractors as to what voters would prioritize the next time Medford approaches them with a bond measure. Topping the list of priorities, based on feedback from district employees and community members, is creating more space for elementary and middle schoolers and bolstering career and technical education infrastructure. “There are several pivotal points throughout the history of the district ... where some bold action was taken that really helped propel the organization forward,” said Matt Stephenson, executive vice president of Rogue Credit Union, at a Medford School Board meeting Monday afternoon. “And we really feel like we’re at one of those moments right now.” Stephenson chaired the district’s Facilities Optimization Committee, which included 14 parents, seven community members, three board members and 45 district staff. The members conducted site visits and other research to craft recommendations. The committee’s top recommendation is to utilize existing space in a proposal that’s familiar to the school board by now — after first finding another space for the alternative education program housed in Central Medford High School, converting the building into the district’s third middle school. “We’re reaching capacity, and even overcrowding in some situations, and there’s an opportunity to act now that will benefit future students, faculty and the community for decades to come,” Stephenson said. He and other committee members said the district could convert the building without asking for a bond measure, to the tune of $10 million to $12 million (a rough estimate because the committee did not prioritize determining costs in its process). Earl confirmed that the district could use other financing methods to cover those costs, especially if it receives a matching construction grant from the state that can reach up to $8 million in value. To make possible the district’s plan to relocate sixth-graders from elementary to middle schools , the committee also recommended building a fourth middle school elsewhere. Dave Wright, another committee member at the Monday meeting, said a property across from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School is available as a possible site for that school, but the district would need to make a move on the land sometime in the next three to six months. Board members seemed interested. “It’s a very compelling piece of property,” said board member Karen Starchvick. “Assuming that (the developer) doesn’t want an arm and a leg, I think it makes a lot of sense to think about securing that.” Building a new school would require a bond measure, which is why local public affairs firm JWA also filled in the board on potential strengths and weaknesses that could influence the outcome of a bond election. Its 87-page report drew from surveys, focus groups and interviews with people inside and outside of the school district. The research showed that while generally the district is trusted and viewed positively, some staff and community members don’t feel connected to the higher levels of administration, where talks of initiatives such as Pathways and CTE are often centered. That’s how, when district officials were confident last May in a $25 million bond to build CTE facilities, voters weren’t convinced, JWA’s report said. Greg Lemhouse, former Ashland City Council member (corrected) and JWA account executive, also discussed the political influences that could play a role in the success of a bond. With a primary and then a presidential election in 2020 — and Jackson County likely proposing a bond for a new jail next May — the board’s earliest option to put a bond on the ballot would be November 2019, the firm said. Otherwise, Lemhouse recommended waiting until 2021. “The caveat is, who knows what’s happening in 2021?” Lemhouse said. “Who knows what the economy is going to be like and what things are gonna cost? It’s a fluid situation, to say the least.” Board members balked at going for a bond in the next four months, saying that they expected to hear the same feedback as after May 2018: that voters didn’t have enough time to understand why the district is asking for money to build. Earl said that the district’s new superintendent, Bret Champion, who logged his first day on the job Monday, also isn’t eager to immediately head into a bond process. “We’re not going in November,” Earl said. “I don’t think there’s a big appetite for that.” Reach Mail Tribune reporter Kaylee Tornay at [email protected] or 541-776-4497. Follow her on Twitter @ka_tornay . Read JWA's full report to the Medford School District below: Students pack the gymnasium during an assembly at Hedrick Middle School in Medford on Sept. 7. [Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch] Medford residents discuss bondThumbnail