4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL May 4, 2016
O PINION
Bond measure
represents commitment
to our future
BY JON STINNETT
Sentinel Editor
D
o you remember when
the citizens of Cottage
Grove contributed sweat eq-
uity, local materials and mon-
ey to the construction of the
Cottage Grove Armory? How
about the time that a pool was
built to help teach local kids
to swim, in the process ending
a series of drownings in local
lakes and rivers? Later, the
community banded together
to help build its own hospital,
at about the same time that
locals pooled their resources,
time and talents to successful-
ly pass a bond to build a new
Cottage Grove High School.
Okay, so there are events
on the above list that few of
us could remember, and as a
relatively recent arrival to this
community (having started
covering news and events here
in 2006), I have not personally
witnessed even the most recent
efforts toward community bet-
terment that I’ve described.
And yet from my earliest
experiences in Cottage Grove,
these were cited by locals as
examples of small-town inge-
nuity and grit, of a community
rallying around itself to over-
come its challenges and bet-
ter its future. There have been
many more such examples in
the decade I’ve been fortunate
to call this town my workplace
and my home.
Indeed, all of us have ben-
efi ted from the planning,
foresight and sacrifi ces of our
Cottage Grove forebears, and
evidence of their successes
abounds in the structures that
have served as this communi-
ty’s gathering places, its halls
of education, worship and re-
habilitation, for generations.
Simply put, look around and
you will see a town built by
hard-working people, people
with an eye toward the future
and an unwillingness to accept
the impossibility of any task,
great or small. Cottage Grove
views itself as a place where
challenges are tackled head-
on with a fi erce commitment
to community values and the
belief that its citizens are best
positioned to decide for them-
selves what is best for their
town, their families and their
descendents. It is one of the
most uplifting aspects of liv-
ing in this amazing place.
Recently, Cottage Grove
has rallied around yet another
challenge, the deterioration
of a school building that has
served to educate thousands of
young people. In early 2015, a
group of 50 locals gathered to
discuss a potential bond to re-
place the aging Harrison Ele-
mentary School, make needed
repairs and upgrades to safety
and technology throughout
South Lane School District.
In tours of the school by the
Bond Advisory Committee, it
became apparent to the group
how dilapidated Harrison had
become through decades of
overuse, patchy repairs and
deferred maintenance.
“This is not a great place
for kids to learn, and it’s be-
cause of the physical structure
itself,” Harrison Principal Ali
Nice said during the fi rst tour
of her school. With a look
around at the cramped rooms
repurposed many times over
the years, the ineffi cient heat-
ing and cooling systems that
make the building unbearably
hot in some rooms and chilly
in others, the gymnasium that
must double as a cafeteria,
leaving little time for indoor
exercise, the absolute absence
of parking, not to mention the
need for seismic upgrades to
withstand a major earthquake
— a fact that many of you al-
ready know became obvious
to the committee: It is time to
replace Harrison Elementary
School.
South Lane School District
offi cials know that in a time
of tight budgets, the bond
process is perhaps the only
way to fund such a signifi cant
need. They also recognize the
need for upgrades throughout
the District to systems that
contribute to the health, well
being and growth of our sons
and daughters. And they are
not alone.
Since the decision was
made to pursue Bond Mea-
sure 20-240, a new generation
of Cottage Grove citizens has
contributed countless hours
to planning for a new Harri-
son Elementary and ensuring
that the word gets out about
the needs that the bond will
address. You have likely spo-
ken to supporters of the bond
measure on your front steps or
on the telephone or read their
literature in your mailbox or
online. The commitment of
so many to this cause is laud-
able and reaffi rms this town’s
drive to create a better future
for itself. It is also completely
understandable given what we
already know about the char-
acter and spirit of those who
call the Cottage Grove area
their home.
South Lane School District
and its supporters are not ask-
ing for the type of commit-
ment that this community’s
organizers have already dis-
played. They ask simply that
you vote yes to support Bond
Measure 20-240 on May 17
and add your voice and your
vote to the chorus of support-
ers of a brighter future for area
students. The challenge is real,
but the timing is right, and the
task is ours alone. Join me in
voting yes on Bond Measure
20-240, and years from now
our hearts can swell with pride
as we ask each other: Remem-
ber that time we got together
and helped build a beautiful
new elementary school?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dance thanks
On behalf of South Lane
Ballet Academy, I want to say a
big thank-you to Lincoln Mid-
dle School for setting up a unit
of dance for its students. Each
grade level received a week-
long dance experience includ-
ing modern, partner, jazz and
hip-hop dance. The students at
Lincoln were, for the most part,
respectful, adventurous and re-
ceptive to the new experience.
Even partner dancing was well
received.
Students were smiling, laugh-
ing, all while exercising. At a
time when the arts are no lon-
ger fully funded, I was grateful
to see LMS take the initiative
to write a grant and put it to
use using our local non-profi t.
Thank you to Heather Devine,
Jason Corwin, Jeff Dreiling and
Mark Dreiling for encouraging
your students. I often heard the
words “try something new” and
“step out of your comfort zone”
not only spoken but demon-
strated (Mark may or may not
have done some cartwheels, for
example). Thanks again for a
wonderful experience!
Mandy Conforth
Cottage Grove
each student’s experience and
the security of students and
employees.
If approved, Measure 20-240
would authorize property taxes
to pay off about $36 million
dollars in bonded debt over 25
years. Additional important
projects are fi re and other
safety and security upgrades
for all schools in the district,
roof replacements and other
deferred maintenance, technol-
ogy upgrades for all schools,
renovation of the Walter H.
Daugherty Aquatic Center.
The good news is that the
expected tax increase for tax-
payers will be modest because
the repayment schedule for the
new bonds will be coordinated
with the repayment schedule
for the bonds issued ear-
lier for constructing Cottage
Grove High School. Also, if
the measure is approved, the
school district will be eligible
to apply for $4 million in state
funding for additional capital
projects.
Make an investment for com-
munity youth with your yes
vote.
Linda Lynch
LWV of Lane County
President
LWV supports
Harrison bond
re: KNND
program
The League of Women Voters
of Lane County urges a yes
vote on Measure 20-240 to
provide funding for much
needed improvements to
schools in the South Lane
School District. The League
believes that the condition of
school facilities is important to
the effectiveness of the educa-
tional program, the quality of
'Monday Gold' makes me
smile and sing. Thanks, Lloyd
Williams.
A letter reprinted from the
April 27 Sentinel:
I want ratings. No ratings =
NO on 20-240!
It is that simple. Are these
good bonds or are they junk
bonds?
JoAnn Gray
Cottage Grove
Vote yes for bond
20-240
Have you ever had one of
those “aha” moments where
the information given to you
clicks? Mine was during a tour
of Harrison Elementary School
over a year ago.
While touring the school
with the group that would
ultimately decide to recom-
mend putting the bond on the
ballot, I asked why a window
had been installed in what had
been a broom closet when my
son attended eight years ago. I
was told they needed a private
space for counseling, and they
cleaned out the closet, put two
chairs and a very small desk in
there (and the window to “give
them some light”) and called it
a counseling room! A broom
closet? Seriously? The change
was for a school that was built
for 125 students that now has
over 400 registered there. Now
that is making the most of what
you have!
We need better for ALL of
our students and our amazing
teachers and staff who “deal”
with the space they have been
given. It’s time for a new Har-
rison. It’s time to see our kids
safe. It’s time to see mainte-
nance taken care of. It’s time to
see pool upgrades. This needs
to happen, not only for our kids
but for our community. It’s
time to vote yes. I did!
Rhonda Worley
Cottage Grove
SVA supports the
bond
healthy kids are vital to our
community. As the current
president of the South Valley
Athletic Association (SVA), I
can tell you how challenging it
is to sustain those services for
the hundreds of young people
in Cottage Grove. Volunteers
for the SVA dedicate their time
and energy to our kids, rais-
ing funds and recruiting sup-
port from our local families
and businesses. Our biggest
challenge is fi nding adequate
space for kids to practice and
play. Volleyball, basketball,
and soccer all require gym
and fi eld space. That space is
becoming harder to fi nd each
year. What is available is in
need of repair and mainte-
nance. We need your help.
South Lane School District
is a strong supporter of com-
munity recreation programs.
The
partnership
between
the District and SVA keeps
our programs running and
affordable. On May 17, our
community can take action to
improve the school facilities
that we all depend on to help
our kids grow into healthy, pro-
ductive adults. Approval of
the school bond will provide
South Valley and other youth
organizations with the facilities
we need to improve youth rec-
reational services.
The board members of South
Valley will continue to fi nd op-
portunities for kids in Cottage
Grove. What they cannot do
alone, we can make happen as
a community. Vote YES for
Kids on May 17; our kids de-
serve it.
Dustin Bengtson, President
South Valley Athletics
Association
Recreational
opportuni-
ties that develop active,
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM Superintendent addresses bond ratings inquiry
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Bond ratings?
If it is not too much to ask,
then why does not the school
board of district 45J provide
the voters of the bond rat-
ings from Moodys, Fitch and
Standard and Poors the ratings
on this proposed $39.5 million
bond issue? It is a real hassle
to create accounts for each
one. Just go ahead and try.
Charles Ames
Cottage Grove
On April 30, South Lane
Superintendent Krista Parent
wrote in response:
Dear Mr. Ames,
Thank you for your inquiry
regarding the bond rating
for the South Lane School
District bond measure. You
are correct that when bonds
are “issued” they are rated.
That will happen when the
new bonds are issued. The
district’s current bond rating is
an A+, rated by Standard and
Poor’s. The district’s bond rat-
ing was updated in 2012 and
then again in 2015. This rating
will be increased by the en-
hanced rating provided by the
District’s participation in the
Oregon School Bond Guaranty
program. This will increase the
A+ rating to an AA+ rating.
I hope this satisfi es your ques-
tion. Please feel free to call me
at 541-942-3381 ext. 131 if
you have any additional ques-
tions.
Sincerely,
Krista Parent
Superintendent
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