The Portland Community College Bond Measure, David Douglas School District Bond Measure and a Parkrose School District 5-year Operating Levy will be on this year's ballot. Read more about them:
Measure 26-224
Portland Community College Bond Measure
A $450 million bond measure to allow Portland Community College to renovate and modernize facilities is on the ballot this November for voters in the PCC District.
The bond measure would be funded through taxes on property or property ownership. The measure would maintain the current tax rate of $0.38 per $1,000 of assessed home value, meaning taxes would not increase if the measure passes.
PCC has four campuses — Cascade, Rock Creek, Sylvania and Southeast — and its district spans parts of Multnomah, Columbia, Washington, Yamhill and Clackamas counties.
The bonds would allow PCC, which serves nearly 50,000 full- and part-time students, to redevelop and improve its campus facilities. The bond measure seeks $450 million dollars in bonds to construct job training space and improve classrooms, campus safety and technology.
Two similar measures passed in 2008 and 2017, which had similar goals. Projects funded by the 2017 bond measure include redeveloping the Portland Metropolitan Workforce Center, which broke ground earlier this year and is expected to be completed in 2023, and a significant redevelopment of the Health and Technology building, located on PCC’s Sylvania campus.
PCC reported it had 78,000 enrolled students in 2017, the year voters passed the last bond measure, meaning it lost 28,000 students in the past five years.
Despite declining enrollment, PCC is still the largest higher education resource for traditionally underrepresented students in Oregon, according to its website.
“This proposed bond measure would fund projects that make higher education more accessible and provide lifelong learning opportunities for all members of our community,” Eric Blumenthal, a PCC board member, wrote in the measure’s filing.
The cost to taxpayers would be $7.92 per month, or $95 dollars per year, for a property with an assessed value of $250,000.
In terms of job training space and classroom improvements, PCC’s webpage on Planning and Capital Construction states improving job training programs will help address a shortage of skilled workers in some industries, including veterinary technicians.
PCC will also use the funds to renovate aging buildings on the Rock Creek and Sylvania campuses, in addition to expanding its technical education facilities in Washington County, according to its bond filing.
Further, an informational video on the bond measure by PCC details plans to improve its heating and cooling to improve efficiency, safety and longevity, which will save money on long-term operating costs, according to the video.
Regarding technology, PCC would invest to better support hybrid classes, which allow students more flexibility, according to its planning website.
For safety and accessibility, promotional materials from the college said the measure would fund accessibility improvements at PCC for people with disabilities but did not detail specifically in its bond filing how it would use the funds to increase access. However, according to PCC’s planning website, it has used funds from past bond measures to build ADA ramps.
PCC would also use the funds to improve safety by upgrading campus lighting and bus stops, according to its bond filing.
Also according to PCC’s bond filing, if approved, the funds will improve access to higher education regardless of a student’s family circumstances, ZIP code or background.
No official arguments against the measure have been filed. However, Erica Fruits, Vice President of Research at Cascade Policy Institute, or CPI, which calls itself a “free market public policy organization,” is against the PCC bond measure, calling it a “real doozy.”
“PCC doesn’t need fancy building remodels if enrollment is down and many of its classes are taught online,” Fruits wrote in a Sept. 14 commentary for CPI on the bond measure. “More money for modern buildings won’t save PCC from declining enrollment. It’s got bigger problems, and money management is one of them.”
PCC would “emphasize openness and transparency” with how it uses the funds and that PCC would perform audits, according to its bond proposal.
Measure 26-227
David Douglas School District Bond Measure
Measure 26-227 would approve a $141 million bond measure for upgrades to the David Douglas School District funded through a property tax applied only to residents living within the district. The district estimates the bond would cost approximately $0.88 per $1,000 of assessed property value.The bond would trigger funds from a Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Grant providing another $8 million in funding if passed.
The Douglas School District contains 15 campuses located in east Portland and serves 8,500 students. About 55% of students are enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program and 68% are students of color.
Approximately $95 million would be distributed throughout each school in the district, funds that would cover building repairs and upgrades, such as air, plumbing and electrical systems, and repairs to roofs, windows and other areas with wear and tear or structural damage.
Approximately $46 million would fund the construction of a new careers center at David Douglas High School that would include “a state-of-the-art facility” for science, technology and engineering. Funds would also cover remodeling to create space for mental health and behavioral support specialists, and the North Powellhurst building on Southeast 135th Avenue would receive expanded preschool facilities that currently can’t accommodate demand.
Safety is a key priority, and funds would be used for the construction of “secure entry way vestibules” in 11 schools that don’t have them. Cherry Park and Gilbert Park schools have secured entrances where visitors need to be buzzed in by office staff twice before accessing the building, but most schools in the district do not.
A community bond oversight committee would conduct oversight of the funds and provide updates to the community and audits as required. According to the measure, the district would undergo regular audits to ensure efficient spending, keep funds in a separate account, and place funds in a separate account for clear tracking and monitoring. No funds would be used for district administration.
Measure 26-229
Parkrose School District 5-year Operating Levy
Measure 26-229 would enact a property tax levy of approximately 3% for households in the Parkrose School District for years starting in 2023 to support its budget and prevent the loss of an estimated 26 teaching positions. The district, which reports a clean 2021 audit, said repeated budget cuts caused the deficit.
The Parkrose District is located in Northeast Portland and serves more than 2,800 students in six schools. It is one of the most diverse school districts in the state; approximately 70% of its students are students of color.
The district is proposing a tax of $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The Parkrose School District is facing a projected budget deficit of more than $3.2 million for the 2023-2024 school year. The district estimates it will need to eliminate 26 teaching positions or 18 school days to compensate for the funding gap, which will mean a drastic cut to current programs and services.
If approved, the district estimates the measure will generate approximately $2 million per year for teachers and classroom assistants, roughly 22 positions (60% for teachers, 40% for classroom instructional assistants).
If passed, the measure would mean one educational assistant for every kindergarten class in the Parkrose District, maintaining small class sizes for K-12 classes, and specialists offering career-oriented electives for middle and high school students. It would also help the district meet state mandates for physical education access for all students.
The district estimates the levy would generate $13.7 million in the next five years, based on available data from the county assessor. According to the ballot measure, the district will maintain ongoing audits, keep funds in a separate account to ensure correct spending, and spending will be subject to citizen oversight. No funds will be spent on district administration.
Street Roots is an award-winning weekly investigative publication covering economic, environmental and social inequity. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
© 2022 Street Roots. All rights reserved. | To request permission to reuse content, email editor@streetroots.org or call 503-228-5657, ext. 404
