By Josh Kulla
Local voters are clearly satisfied with their public schools. And they seem to be willing to vote with their pocketbooks.
That was made evident on April 14, when the West Linn-Wilsonville school board received the results of a survey of local voters carried out to gauge the direction they wish to see the school district go with a capital bond measure worth up to $100 million. The board has already decided in principle to place the measure on the general election ballot in November.
The only questions now, are how big the measure will be and which of the dozens of potential capital projects will be funded.
Not only did the survey show that 76 percent of those queried would give local schools a grade of A or B, it showed that 57 percent of voters asked are already expressing some level of support for the proposed bond measure. Further, fully three-quarters of those surveyed also support the continuation of a local option levy that would raise $7.5 million per year over the next five years for school district operations. It was first approved by voters in 2000 and extended for six more years in 2004. It expires in 2010.
The latter is a completely separate issue. But because it, too, will be decided at the ballot box, surveyors decided to ask about the local option levy as well.
“These are good results, encouraging results,” said consultant Kelly Middendorf of Moore Information, the firm contracted to carry out the survey of some 450 registered voters living in West Linn and Wilsonville.
Over three-quarters of those polled were from West Linn, Middendorf said, mirroring the percentage of registered voters in each locality. This led to some interesting results in some categories, where opinion diverges sharply from zip code to zip code.
For example, when it comes to the condition of school district facilities, 42 percent of Wilsonville respondents view their facilities as being in excellent condition against just 26 percent of West Linn residents.
Wilsonville residents also view their schools as being more crowded than those in West Linn; 51 percent of Wilsonville respondents think their schools are crowded, compared with just 36 percent of West Linn residents.
“I was fascinated by some of the differences between Wilsonville and West Linn,” said board member David Goode, a West Linn resident. “Some of them were very pronounced.”
When it comes to the bond measure itself, opinions show highest levels of support making safety-related repairs and clearing up a $9.6 million dollar maintenance backlog at district facilities. 85 percent surveyed favor this option. 69 percent expressed support for spending nearly $14 million on upgrading the district’s computers and other technology needs, while 68 percent of respondents support spending $5 million or more on new and renovated libraries at some primary and middle schools.
Other proposed projects
• 57 percent support for a new 500-student primary school at Villebois. Cost: $29 million.
• 57 percent support for $2.8 million in kitchen renovation funding for different schools.
• 56 percent support for beginning the planning and architecture for a new $27 million primary school to replace Sunset Primary in West Linn.
• 54 percent support for a new 300 student primary school in West Linn at a site other than Sunset.
• 46 percent support for an $8 million alternative services facility.
• 41 percent support for adding all-weather athletic fields at Rosemont Ridge Middle School and Wilsonville High School.
Those surveyed were also asked their opinion of various messages being considered by the district for the coming election campaign, as well as their informed voting intentions both before and after receiving detailed information about the proposed bond measure and spending options.
School board members compared this year’s bond campaign to past efforts in 1997 and 2002. Compared with previous elections, said board member Mary Furrow of Wilsonville, electorate support for the proposed bond measure, which could surpass $100 million if certain options are chosen, appears less certain than before.
“It looks like support is a little softer across the board on this bond,” Furrow said.
Those surveyed were not given the option of expressing support for a smaller capital bond measure, something which was done in the past, board member Dale Hoogestraat said.
“In the last survey, we tiered things and asked about different levels of the bond,” he said.
“I think that in 2002, it started at around $85 or 86 million, and there less support than for the $70 million (bond) we ended up with,” Furrow added. “The $100 million threshold is something this district has never seen before.”
A final date for the board to decide on what shape the final bond measure will take has not yet been set.
The matter was also discussed at some length the following Monday, April 21, at a school board study session.
There, board members digested the survey results, which are considered encouraging overall, given the economic uncertainties again coloring Oregon’s coming general election.
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