Proposed School Bond to Fund 'Critical' Repairs in Redmond

A renewal bond will go before Redmond voters in November, looking to fund a variety of renovations, repairs, upgrades and expansions in the Redmond School District. The proposed $97.7 million bond is a continuation from a previous 2004 bond that concludes this year. It’s aimed at continuing to maintain several aging buildings, facilities and systems.

The Redmond School District, which oversees a total of 12 schools and one alternative learning center, has been planning this bond for four years as the second phase of its construction efforts.

The bond, if passed, will fund safety and security programs for all schools, address building repairs, make energy efficient upgrades, and expand some program facilities and schools, including returning Tumalo Community School to a K-8 school. The school switched to serving just K-5 in the 2019-2020 school year.

Many schools within the district were built a long time ago, according to Redmond School District Superintendent, Dr. Charan Cline. While all of the schools could use upgrades, he said, the main problems lie within the 50-year-old Redmond High School.

Redmond High, which has a total of about 1,000 students, has seen some remodels over the years, but still contains a lot of its original heating system – the main repair Cline indicated as “critical.”

“That system is failing, and it’s leaking all over the place,” said Cline, referencing pictures of old and leaky pipes. “We are in real danger of losing Redmond High as a viable facility…it could happen anytime. Honestly, it’s Russian Roulette, but we’re hoping within the next five years, it holds together.”

According to Cline, the District must replace miles of pipes, and the insulation around them, among other building upgrades – a minimum of $19 million of work – to prevent potential flooding and exposure to asbestos.

Buckets are placed underneath leaking sections of heating pipes at the Redmond High School. Credit: Logan McGinnis

“Right now, we are fearful that the problems with leaking in the pipes could become worse,” Redmond High School Principal Audrey Haugan told the Source Weekly. “We have seen leaks in our hallway and in some classroom areas, where we have had to divert hallway traffic or move materials.”

Hearing that these problems could become worse, Haugan is fearful of having to shut down classes or even the school all together. The Redmond School Board considered that option earlier this spring and opted to leave the school open.

Other funding opportunities include expanding technical and career education programs and water conservation. The Redmond School District is the number one-water user in the City of Redmond, mainly due to watering fields and lawns. It hopes to reduce its water use by xeriscaping some of its vast green spaces.

The District estimates that this $97.7 million bond would not increase property tax rates, but maintain them at current rates. Because the 2004 bond ends this year, the proposed bond would replace that, continuing the current tax rate, which is about $500 a year for the average taxpayer.

A 2020 school bond refinanced the 2004 bond and allowed the district to increase security in nearly all schools, as well as fund some additions and repairs. With that 2020 bond, the district was able to leverage $27 million to do over $40 million worth of work. Still, there is a lot more to do, Cline said.

“If we don’t continue to reinvest in these things, they really are kind of a detriment to the community,” said Cline. “So that’s really what this is about. It’s about keeping an even level of financing, if you will, for the community, making sure we are reinvesting in these buildings and keeping them viable over time for everybody.”