School bond Measure 17-130

Grants Pass District 7 needs to raise matching funds to qualify for an $8.1 million state infrastructure grant. The district has proposed an assessment of 10-cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value. This is estimated to bring in about $10.9 million. 

District 7, often called D7, has 11 schools including 6 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools. It has 5600 students and 800 employees, with 17 percent of its students receiving special services. District 7 includes the Grants Pass metropolitan area.

The District says the money is desperately needed. Previous school bonds for this have been rejected and the district is at the point where patches just aren’t enough anymore. Sixty-year-old buildings need new roofs, asbestos removal, plumbing needs upgrading, and because so many parents are driving their kids to and from school now, traffic flow needs improving.

Air conditioning will be included in the building improvements as well. Schools are experiencing more hot days at the beginning and end of the school year, and without air conditioning, smoke from large, nearby fires becomes a problem. Also, schools are used all year round by many people holding events or being evacuated from fires or other disasters. Evacuees from the Beacon Hill fires could not use the closest schools because they lacked air conditioning.

The District says in this case, money for desperately needed school infrastructure can be raised with an affordable bond because of the state’s grant offer. The grant is only available if the school district shows it can raise a portion of what it needs to meet budget requirements for the improvements.