Estacada voters say 'No' to new high school bond

Estacada voters said "No" to a school bond that would have built new, safe places for students to learn over the next three decades.

As of Wednesday, May 22, during the 2024 Primary Election, the Estacada School Bond had 61.92% “No” votes, with 38.08% saying “Yes.” More than 3,300 votes have been tallied.

Measure 3-607 proposed a $149 million bond, $3.55 per assessed $1,000 home value, that would create a domino-effect of construction and improvements for the Estacada School District.

“Our school facilities are aging, and without significant investment, they will continue to deteriorate, compromising the quality of education our students receive,” Superintendent Ryan Carpenter said.

If successful, it would have built a new high school on half the footprint of the current building; revamped the other half into a middle school for 7th and 8th graders; and turned the current middle school into a third elementary.

The new high school had been described by Carpenter as “efficient, humble and practical.”

“We don’t want fancy, we don’t want bells and whistles,” he said.

The bulk of the bond, about $114 million, was for that new, two-story 120,000-square-foot high school.

Now with voters leaning against the bond, the district must find a new way to deal with aging buildings and facilities. There are corroded pipes, and three fires occurred at the high school this year from worn out electrical infrastructure.

The district is also facing overcrowding — River Mill Elementary uses six portable classrooms. Projections show it will get worse soon, with the district of 1,938 students expected to hit 2,500 in 10 years.

The high school has 550 Rangers students, with an anticipated jump to 850 students in 10 years. The new high school would have had a capacity of 1,100.

“We need to think about the next 30 years,” Carpenter said.