Caption – Greater Albany School District facilities improvement general obligation bond authorization.

Question – Shall Greater Albany School District issue general obligation bonds totaling $55,000,000 to renovate schools and expand and improve its facilities? If the bonds are approved, they will be payable from taxes on property or property ownership not subject to the limits of Section 11 and 11b, Article XI of the Oregon Constitution.

Summary – This measure may be passed without a 50% voter turnout. This measure provides funds to update District schools which are on average 50 years old, some nearly 100 years old.

Fiscal Accountability and Independent Audits

An independent fiscal oversight and accountability committee will oversee expenditures to ensure that bond funds are used as authorized by voters. All funds will be used to renovate, build and improve classrooms and buildings – not for administrative overhead.

Bond proceeds will be used to:

•  Update and modernize facilities, classrooms and school buildings;

•  Upgrade electrical equipment and improve access to technology, update science labs and libraries;

•  Upgrade heating systems so all classrooms have working heating and ventilation systems;

•  Replace aging water pipes to improve drinking water quality, and upgrade fire safety equipment;

•  Make schools more accessible for disabled and special needs children;

•  Remove asbestos;

•  Build additional classrooms, acquire land, construct and furnish a new school.

Bonds will mature in not more than 11 years from issuance date.

Explanatory Statement

The Board of Directors of the Greater Albany Public School District wants to provide Albany area kids with safe and healthy classrooms and learning environments that will prepare them for the careers of the 21 st century. After nearly two years of planning, community meetings, recommendations from a 30-member citizen committee, numerous School Board work sessions, and professional research, the school board voted to place this bond on the ballot – guided by four goals.

•  Making sure schools are safe and healthy,

•  Making sure students and teachers have the tools they need so kids can compete for college or for the careers of the 21 st century,

•  Providing additional classrooms so that all students have space in which to learn,

•  And making sure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, on classrooms and facilities, not on administrative overhead.

This $55 million bond will pay for the most critical needs in all schools throughout the district.

The bond is estimated to cost $1.63 per thousand for ten years (an increase from the $.32 currently being paid by Greater Albany Public School District patrons)

 

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

Most of Albany 's schools are more than half a century old. Every school needs equipment fixed, replaced and updated including:

Replace pipes to improve kids' drinking water.

Fix heating and ventilation systems (some boilers are so old you can't get parts anymore!).

Replace roofs.

Update fire equipment and emergency exits, fix hazardous pavement, replace deteriorating gym floors, and renovate unsafe high school track.

Make schools more accessible for disabled students, parents and staff.

 

TOOLS FOR SUCCESS

Many classrooms were designed and built before World War II . No one knew then how technology would affect our lives and the future of our children. Today's students depend on schools as the learning centers for the 21 st century.

That means:

Upgrading electrical capacity and wiring to accommodate computers and the other technology our kids need (some classrooms have only two electrical outlets);

Upgrading science labs (some don't even have sinks);

Modernizing libraries; and

Providing new technology centers at our high schools

GROWTH – The Board feels Albany 's rapidly increasing student population needs more space.

Classroom overcrowding is a fact: This bond would:

Add classrooms at Takena, Tangent, Oak, North Albany Middle School, South Albany High School and West Albany High School and
Build a new school east of I-5.

 

TAXPAYER SAFEGUARDS

An independent community accountability committee will guarantee Bond funds go directly where they are needed most – to the classrooms, to the school buildings, and to the most critically needed renovation and improvements.

Money cannot be spent on administrative overhead.

The committee includes community leaders, parents, teachers, builders, accountants – they'll make sure YOUR MONEY IS SPENT WISELY, and only on what you voted for!

 

We need safe schools for our kids, but we also need safeguards for the taxpayers.

Ballot Measure 22-62: School Bond Fact Sheet

On the ballot for November 7, 2006, the voters within the boundaries of the Greater Albany Public School District in Linn and Benton Counties will be asked to approve the issuance of a general obligation bond totaling $55,000,000. The money would be spent to renovate schools and expand and improve school facilities. An independent Citizens Fiscal Oversight and Accountability Committee will oversee expenditures to ensure the funds are used as authorized by voters. This measure may be passed without a 50% voter turn out. The term of the bond would be for 10 years. The bond cost is estimated to be $1.63 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The reason for the bond levy is to make necessary renovations and to accommodate the growth of the student population. The schools in the district average 50 years of age, with some being nearly 100 years old. Community growth over the last 30 years has created a demand for a new school, east of Interstate-5.

The independent Citizens Fiscal Oversight and Accountability Committee members are Tom Gaulke, Mark McNabb, Wes Price, Ron Reimers, Lisa Shogren, and Bruce “Buzz” Wheeler. This committee would make sure the bond proceeds are used to renovate, build and improve classrooms and buildings. Bond proceeds would not be used for administrative overhead.

Money from the bond would be used to:

1. Update and modernize facilities, classrooms and school buildings;

2. Upgrade electrical equipment and improve access to technology;

3. Upgrade science labs and libraries;

4. Upgrade heating systems so all classrooms have working heating and ventilation systems;

5. Replace old water pipes to improve drinking water quality;

6. Make schools more accessible for disabled and special needs children;

7. Remove asbestos;

8. Upgrade fire safety equipment;

9. Fix hazardous pavement;

10. Replace deteriorating floors and renovate unsafe areas;

11. Add classrooms at Takena, Tangent, Oak, North Albany Middle School, South Albany High School and West Albany High School;

12. Build a new school east of I-5.

Two examples of upgrades are: (1) Classroom upgrades to provide additional electrical capacity and wiring to accommodate technology; (2) Science classroom upgrades to include sinks and other laboratory facilities.

School Board Members: Don Bacher, Frank Bricker, Sandi Gordon, Liisa Reid and Tom Sramek.

Prepared by the Greater Albany Public School District
Please refer any comments or questions regarding the school bond to the Public Forums or the School District point of contact:
Jim Haggart
(541) 967-4511
Email: jim_haggart@albany.k12.or.us