(Submitted by Christie Bauer)

Eyeing voter approval of a November 2025 capital construction bond, the West Linn-Wilsonville School Board settled on a package that would raise $185 million at the current tax rate of $2.93 per $1,000 of assessed value. 

All five members of the board voted unanimously to approve the bond package during a work session on Wednesday, May 21. The board will vote to place the bond officially on the November ballot 

The proposed bond spreads improvements districtwide, with projects predominantly focused on safety, stewardship and wellness. 

“We do live in a state where rain plays a significant factor in the wear and tear of our buildings,” said board member Louis Taylor. “(We need to) keep our facilities healthy instead of having to go back and fix them. We’re also a district that has needs. We’re a sports community, whether we like it or not. We hear that from our community members — things need to be replaced and upgraded; these funds will allow us to do that.” 

The bond projects are divided into seven key areas: accessibility; athletics and wellness; facilities stewardship; learning with technology; safe and welcoming schools; STEAM, CTE and career pathways; and sustainable and resilient facilities.

Nearly 25% of the approved projects are in the facilities stewardship area, followed by  athletics and wellness at 20% and sustainable & resilient facilities at 16%. 

Districtwide stewardship projects include replacing furniture, fixtures and building equipment, as well as tree and swale restoration and maintenance. At several schools, stewardship projects include system improvements like roof replacements. These schools are Boeckman Creek Primary, Boones Ferry Primary, Cedaroak Park Primary, Inza R. Wood Middle, Rosemont Ridge Middle, West Linn High School and Wilsonville High School. 

In addition to approving all projects that the operations department deemed “mission critical” during the long range planning process – focusing on repairs across the district that were either deferred or are on the verge of failure –  the school board approved a number of improvements to athletic facilities at Rosemont Ridge, Riverside High School, Wilsonville High and Meridian Creek Middle. 

These include new synthetic turf and lights at Riverside High School and  Meridian Creek, as well as a new track, concessions building and restroom at Meridian Creek. Rosemont Ridge and Wilsonville High will also get improved dugouts for baseball and softball. The district will also build a new covered stadium at Riverside. 

Projects to add parking at the three high schools are also included, along with ADA improvements at Boeckman Creek and Bolton primaries. 

Additionally, one of the most popular projects at a bond summit earlier this year was renovating the second gym space at Boones Ferry Primary to serve as a unified, central robotics and CTE space for the entire district, which is also included in the bond package. The bond projects also include districtwide backup generators and improvements to intrusion limiting glass. 

Currently, the district has a bond rate of $2.93 per $1,000 of assessed value, along with $4.87 per $1,000 in operating taxes and $1.64 in local option levy taxes, totaling $9.30 per $1,000 in school property tax funding for West Linn-Wilsonville residents. This translates to about $3,487,50 in school-related property taxes per year for a home with an assessed value of $375,000. 

 If passed, the new bond would not change these rates.

Chief Operations Officer Pat McGough and Capital Construction Project Manager Remo Douglas answered questions from board members Wednesday, such as how the bond team works to keep projects within the designated budget. 

“As you work through those design processes, you manage stakeholders wanting to add,” said Douglas. “We have a budget to get us there.”

Board member Kelly Sloop asked about the significance of declining enrollment on the decision to improve facilities. 

“When you went through the small schools process, I believe you heard from many in the community: keep all 16 schools,” said Superintendent Kathy Ludwig. “So if you’re keeping all 16 school buildings, you’ve got to maintain them. These are essential projects for those 16 schools, whether you have 180 children in it or 400 or 600.” 

Taylor added that he felt the projects would add value to not just the school communities, but also property values around the district and for the long-term competitive success of the high school’s athletic and extracurricular programs. 

The breakdown of the bond package projects can be viewed here.