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The St. Helens School District hopes to secure a $4 million matching grant from the State of Oregon to help fund the construction at St. Helens High School.
However, the district must pass a $4 million bond in the May 16 Special Election to secure the matching grant.
The St. Helens School District will gain a $4 million grant from the state if voters approve the May bond measure.
Courtesy
Superintendent Scot Stockwell said the district is in a unique position because if voters approve the bond, the district will receive a 1:1 matching grant from the State of Oregon that will not increase taxes for voters. This is a result of the increasing population of St. Helens.
"Due to the fact that we have been paying off our bonds (much like a loan) and our community has grown (more people/business to help pay), we have space to add a $ 4 million bond without increasing what is currently being paid," Super Intendent for the St. Helens School District Scot Stockwell told the Chronicle.
If the bond is not passed, the $4 million matching grant will be awarded to another school district that did pass their bond.
St. Helens High School construction project
Construction on the project began last spring, but a number of factors have resulted in delays and adjustments to plans to stay within the parameters of the original budget. COVID work stoppages, inflation costs, labor shortages, and supply chain issues have contributed to delays and issues with the project. Some examples of what has caused delays were provided by Stockwell.
"What's created delays is mainly due to supply chain and inflation issues. An example of inflation impact, we delayed construction of the science wing while lumber prices were at an all-time high. When lumber prices dropped, we made purchases and started construction," Stockwell said. "In regards to supply chain issues, we tried to order a major electrical switch box 39 weeks ahead of time knowing there were potential delays. When we placed the order we were told it would now be 59 weeks."
What is important, Stockwell said, is that the high school project will be completed and be on budget. The original budget was based on a $55 million bond that voters approved in May 2021. Due to inflation and supply chain issues, components of the original design have needed to be augmented.
"As part of the process, we go back to the plans and remove expensive items or replace high-cost items with lower cost. When you do this it is called 'Value Engineering,'" Stockwell said. "We've had to value engineer the project to stay within the budget we have to spend."
If the $4 million bond is approved on the May ballot, and the district secures the matching grant from the state, the $8 million would be used to add back some of the features that have been 'value engineered' out of the project.
Where would the additional money go?
The following items are potential add-backs to the project the district would consider with an additional $8 million, according to Stockwell:
Updating HVAC throughout
Paving the Parking lots
Updating CTE Programs
Covered area outside the commons
Updating the Auditorium
Updating the locker rooms
Turfing the Baseball and Softball Fields
Stockwell said one of the topics that people ask most about is the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Updating the HVAC system in parts of the original school would be one of the critical priorities if the grant and bond are secured.
"We do have HVAC in the school being both updated and replaced. In newly constructed areas, we will install new HVAC systems, but in areas like the old Building B, where we have HVAC, and it is still working, only essential items to keep it running will be updated," Stockwell said. "We know it is at the end of its life expectancy and needs a complete update, so if the bond is passed it is one of the top priorities."
While the additional money would help expand the additions to the school, Stockwell emphasized that the project will remain on budget with or without the additional $8 million. The most significant variable is what the renovations will include. Regardless, after the construction, St. Helens High School students will enjoy a brand-new facility. The question is how many of the 'value engineered' features will be included without further funding.
"When it is all said and done, we will have a great new facility our community will be proud of for many years regardless of whether the bond passes or not," Stockwell said. "As a School District, we would be remiss if we didn't provide our community with an opportunity to choose to add back $8 million of construction that evaporated with inflation at essentially no additional cost."
Obviously a grant from the state would not increase taxes. But if the measure is not approved, and the $8M is not spent, won’t our taxes go down? And if so, why is that not mentioned?
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Obviously a grant from the state would not increase taxes. But if the measure is not approved, and the $8M is not spent, won’t our taxes go down? And if so, why is that not mentioned?
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1. Be Civil. No bullying, name calling, or insults.
2. Keep it Clean and Be Nice. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
3. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
4. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
5. Be Proactive. Let us know of abusive posts. Multiple reports will take a comment offline.
6. Stay On Topic. Any comment that is not related to the original post will be deleted.
7. Abuse of these rules will result in the thread being disabled, comments denied, and/or user blocked.
8. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.