community
april6
2017
School Bond Panel Answers Questions
to cost $39 million, and the final $14
million would be raised from federal,
state, and private grants and donations.
“We did have our kids in the new school
by September 2012 but it was a push to
make it happen, but we did not want to
lose that $12 million from FEMA,” said
Bernal.
Bernal went on to explain that
the final cost to build the school was $42
million and fundraising efforts fell $2
million short of the original goal of $39
million plus the overage of $3 million,
leaving a $5 million shortfall, which
the District had to borrow in order to
complete the project on time and meet
FEMA’s deadline. The debt service to
pay those $5 million in loans, now down
to about $4.5 million, is approximately
$400,000 per year and has been paid an-
nually through continuing fund raising
efforts, which have now dried up. That
debt service payment would be paid off
with the passage of the bond, or will
need to come from the School District
general fund if the community fails to
pass the bond. Superintendent Miller
later explained that would, “...take away
from what we can do to increase our ef-
fectiveness at educating our students in
the community.” Bernal emphasized
that the first priority if the bond is passed
would be to eliminate that debt and free
up that funding.
Senator Johnson discussed the
past fundraising efforts that have taken
place, noting that “...the whole state
knows about Vernonia. For some of us
this has been a 10 year odyssey. I am, in
my private life a donor, and have worked
on this steadily for 10 years and helped
get about $4 million from the state at a
critical time.” Johnson went on to state
that the Vernonia community stepped
up to take care of their own kids when
they passed the original $13 bond, and
that “...none of us at that time could have
anticipated some of the things that were
problematic,” in the efforts to raise the
funds and complete the construction of
the campus. “The grit and determination
of this town to put itself back together
again is a widely and well known story.
To take advantage of the state’s generos-
ity with the matching grant, once again
finishes this story... and takes care of our
kids. We have come an enormously long
way. My plea to the voters of Vernonia
is, let’s push this over the end and finish
this... and take this off the worry list for
the District.”
Superintendent Miller explained
how the District qualified for the
matching grant, noting that the District
was eligible for up to $4 million.
Miller explained that matching funds
are only eligible to be used for capital
improvement projects and cannot be
used for debt reduction.
Former School Board Chair
Krahn explained that the District was
initially unable to complete the school
campus during the original construction
because the project did not follow a
normal construction schedule.
He
explained that normally you would
not begin a construction project until
you had all the funds raised, but in this
particular case, because the money came
from various sources at different times,
when there became questions about
whether enough funds would be raised,
parts of the project were eliminated. “It
was a difficult mix and match as we went
forward, and as previously mentioned,
we had to have seats in the chairs by
the fall of 2012 or we wouldn’t get the
money from FEMA,” said Krahn. “We
were gathering money as we went along.
It was a very non-traditional way of
public building.”
When an audience member
commented that that was not a very smart
way to build this type of project, Krahn
responded that it was the only way it
could be done in order to receive the $12
million from FEMA. Senator Johnson
added that, “...we were also watching
an exodus out of the community. As
the population dwindled, we believed
this would stabilize the town. Was this
the most prudent way to do it? No. Were
we as opportunistic as we could have
possibly been? Yes. And the result is,
you drive up there, and there are the
schools.”
Senator Johnson also discussed
the opportunity that building a metal/
welding shop would provide for
Vernonia students, now that the Oregon
Manufacturing and Innovation Center
(OMIC) campus is moving forward in
Scappoose. Johnson said the project in
Scappoose would create a partnership
with Boeing and their supply chain,
and would provide student internships
through PCC, who will reach out to
students and “feeder schools” to increase
career and technical education in local
schools. “This is a huge opportunity for
us and if this bond is successful you’ll
have an opportunity to have a robust
pipeline of kids feeding into OMIC.”
Superintendent Miller said the
District has equipment for a new metal/
welding shop in storage and will not
need to purchase new equipment. He
said the four classrooms that would be
added to the campus were part of the
original plans, but were cut as a cost
saving measure when fundraising efforts
fell short. Miller noted that if the bond
passes it will take the District time to
rebuild their programs. “We’ve been
in crisis as a District since 2007,” said
Miller. “Even if this bond passes, it’s
going to take time to recover from all
of those years of being in debt and in
crisis.”
The School Bond Committee
has sent out a detailed list of proposed
projects that would be addressed if the
bond passes. When asked if he could
guarantee that all the items on that list
would be completed, School Board Chair
Costley said he would not guarantee
it, but that the District has estimates
and feels confident that they can do all
the items on the list. “If we don’t have
enough money we will do what we can,”
said Costley. He said he would like to
see a public process to identify priorities
if the list needs to be modified. “I can
guarantee that I will use my vote to make
sure that we don’t overrun on this project
and I believe we will be successful at
managing the process.”
A member of the audience
asked if it was cost effective to make
repairs to the Mist School, or would it be
better to close it. Superintendent Miller
responded that because the Mist School
is classified as a remote school, the
District receives double funding from
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the state for students that attend there and
that the District receives more money
than it costs to run the school. He also
recognized that the District has made
a commitment to the Mist community
to keep the school open and intends to
honor that commitment.
Another audience member
who is a teacher in the District asked
what happens if the bond doesn’t pass.
“I’m relatively new to the community
and relatively new to my career as a
teacher,” said the audience member.
“I’ve invested myself in this school and
this community and it’s tough to stick
around here, frankly. I’d like to stay but
as a new teacher it’s tough to make that
commitment with such a hazy future.”
Senator Johnson addressed the question,
noting that the bond failed to pass in
November by just 54 votes. “I don’t live
in this community but I care about this
community enormously,” said Johnson
as she presented a personal check for
$1,000 to the School Bond Committee
to help tell the story and pass the bond.
“We are 54 votes short of closing the
book on this story and giving dedicated
teachers the certainty of creating an
environment where our kids can thrive.
I’ll admit that mistakes were made
along the way. I’ll admit that there were
unforeseen things that took more money
than we anticipated. A group of us have
done nothing for the last decade but
try to figure out how to close the book
on this. How can we bring certainty
to this community? How do we close
this chapter? I am just praying that the
citizens of Vernonia believe that they
can carry the last little bit. This ends the
question of what happens with Vernonia
schools and makes this the kind of
community where people want to bring
up their kids.”
Our Legacy
How will you be remembered? What will they say?
What is your legacy? Did you make someone’s day?
Or maybe more than a day, did you affect someone’s goals?
Were you one of the reasons their success story was told?
One day I’ll ask myself, what is the difference I made?
Did I do enough? Did I help pave the way?
Our small town pioneers, they gave us a start
They knew children were precious, they did their part
Back in the day, someone once asked of them
Would they help build a school, to a child be a friend?
Whether they’re your children or not, they are our future
The next generation, it’s a good plan that we nurture
Improve, if we can, and wish for them better
Raise some good kids, a bunch of go-getters!
It’s not wasted money, it never has been
When we help those behind us we gain in the end
I won’t hesitate! For the bond, I’ll vote “YES!”
With the lottery funds, we’ve been doubly blessed
It’s just a small thing, but I’ll be paid back in smiles
Knowing I made a difference in the life of a child.
~Kala Cota
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