[October 15th, 2008]

Yes

[Editor's note: We screwed up and accidentally recommended a No vote in the print edition. Please disregard that advice. We really want you to vote Yes! ]

What’s the fuss? Schools in the Centennial School District straddling the Portland-Gresham line are overcrowded, and an expected influx of students from new housing developments will only worsen the problem.

What’s the fix? An $84 million bond issue to build a new elementary and middle school; rebuild Centennial Learning Center, an alternative school for grades 7-12; and renovate additional buildings. That’s about $1.35 per $1,000 in assessed value, or $270 a year on a home assessed at $200,000.

Here’s the deal : As families have moved to outer Portland and into Gresham, pressure on the Centennial School District to find space for new students has increased. This year alone, enrollment increased more than 2 percent, bringing the total student population to nearly 7,000. That’s about 1,000 more kids than a decade ago.

To ease the overcrowding, the district proposes to build a new elementary and middle school, reconstruct an alternative school and renovate older buildings to improve safety conditions. The last time the district passed a bond issue was 2000, for $31 million to renovate the high school and build a new elementary school. Continued enrollment growth since then has created the need for this measure.

Video of WW endorsement interview (thanks to Portland Community Media)