Redmond schools regroup after bond’s slim failure
Voters said no to Redmond’s proposed $70 million school a week ago by just 410 votes out of nearly 24,000 ballots cast. The narrow loss has school officials asking more questions of voters as they weigh just how and when to try again, saying the need for safety and other improvements won’t go away.
Superintendent Mike McIntosh told NewsChannel 21 Monday the school district needs the money to address maintenance projects, a full replacement of Lynch Elementary School and safety and security upgrades, such as secure school entrances.
“The cameras that we have in schools are important, as we look at student safety and threats to that safety,” McIntosh said. “The new Lynch was intended to be a safety effort. And if we have another bad snow year, there will be some days missed there, because I don’t trust the structure of that building to withstand another six feet of snow on its roof.”
McIntosh said he respects the “no” voters, but the urgency and the importance of replacing Lynch Elementary has not diminished.
This week, the school district is conducting an exit poll to better understand why voters disagree. McIntosh said they are trying to understand the big reasons for why it went down and to better understand the voters message before deciding when and how to try again.
Until then, he said, they have to proceed with what repairs they can, within their current budget.
“We have precious little set aside — about $100,000 annually, when you’re looking at $70 million in needs. And so we’ll look forward to doing those things we have to, but on a shoestring budget,” he said. “We can put doorbells, a single camera at the point of entry. We’ll do our best to keep the roof fixed and patched and move forward to such times as when we can garner enough money to get everything we needed.”
McIntosh said there’s no resource in place that could replace an entire camera system. He said Oregon has no mechanism to save money from their general fund in large enough amounts to pay for those type of improvements, so it’s inevitable that they’ll have to try for another bond at some point.
