While it’s unusual for “STANDING ROOM ONLY” signs to be taped to the back wall of the Lake Oswego School Board meeting room, it isn’t unheard of — especially when the school district’s future is on the agenda.
During the Monday, May 20 school board meeting, the Lake Oswego School District Long Range Facilities Planning Committee presented an update to the district’s long range facilities plan as parents and community residents packed the room.
Appointed last November, the committee members considered the future of the district’s facilities and developed three recommendations for the board to consider.
The first recommendation focused on bringing all district facilities up to “21st century standards” within the final phase of the capital construction bond and addressed which facilities should be prioritized. The second recommendation advised the school board to undertake a feasibility study regarding the future of Lake Grove Elementary, Uplands Elementary and Palisades World Language School. The final recommendation directed the board to “review and modify” the long range facilities plan following the completion of the feasibility study.
The committee’s considerations have recently generated pushback from Lake Grove Elementary parents after the city of Lake Oswego expressed interest in utilizing the school property to build a new community center that could include a library and parks and recreation services. Many of the parents wore “Save Lake Grove” T-shirts to show support for the residents who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“I understand the difficulty of navigating these complex situations and conversations,” said Superintendent Jennifer Schiele during a report delivered Monday. “I have been in this district for 21 years and this is the third time we’ve had this exact conversation, so I get it. Our district faces significant considerations and I recognize the unease these uncertainties can bleed to everyone involved. Please know that no decision is made lightly. Someone mentioned we had already made up our minds — that is not accurate at all. Our decisions are centered on what is best for our students.”
Recommended investments
The first project recommended by the LRFP Committee is “Invest in Elementary Schools.” This includes demolishing and building a replacement for Forest Hills Elementary School, the oldest facility in the district, and demolishing Lake Grove Elementary School. The feasibility study will determine the future of the Lake Grove and Uplands Elementary School properties, as well as the possible expansion of the World Language Program housed at Palisades.
Further projects recommended include investments in a multi-use, flexible space for high school Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, building a new community transition program facility on the Lake Grove property and construction or relocation of district-wide administrative and support services departments facilities.
LRFP committee member Courtney Clements said the different projects were like dominoes and the decisions made about one facility could impact the others.
Feasibility study
The proposed feasibility study is meant to “provide comprehensive information” for the school board to make final decisions on which facilities and properties would receive significant investment if voters were to approve the third phase of the capital construction bond.
The study will cover four contentious projects to generate more substantial community feedback, information and expert analysis on their long-term viability, sustainability and impact.
Lake Grove Elementary’s future is the first and perhaps most controversial of the four feasibility study projects. The study will assess whether to demolish and rebuild Lake Grove Elementary on the same 9.4-acre property or relocate the school to the current Uplands Elementary facility. Built in 1949, Lake Grove is the district’s second-oldest facility and in the poorest condition.
In February, the LRFP Committee weighed four case studies for how to utilize the property — including sharing part of the property with the city or using a portion of it for a new district administrative building.
Considerations for the Lake Grove study include community-wide impacts, school boundary review, school capacity, construction costs, school location and long-term revenue generation potential from the valuable property along Upper Boones Ferry Road.
The second feasibility study project is to provide “an adequately sized facility for the long-term needs of the World Language School,” by either constructing additional classrooms at the current site or relocating Palisades World Language School to Uplands.
If either Palisades or Lake Grove is moved to Uplands — after it is done serving as the district’s construction “swing site”— further capital improvements will be made to the facility.
The third feasibility study project is to evaluate and consolidate administrative and support service departments for LOSD in a single location. The options for this project depend heavily on the decision-making about Lake Grove and the future of Uplands. The school district’s considerations include functionality, space for programming at Lake Oswego High School, ongoing rental costs for the district’s support services and public access and perception.
Finally, the feasibility study should “explore partnerships for public and/or private facilities on the Lake Grove site that benefit both students and citizens of Lake Oswego, situated within the commercial zone,” according to the LRFPC recommendation.
Next steps
From 5-6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, the school board is hosting an additional hour-long listening session for community residents and parents at the Lake Oswego School District office.
Following this listening session, the school board meets again on Monday, June 3 before taking possible action regarding the feasibility study and considerations at its Monday, June 17 meeting, the final of the 2023-24 school year.
While the school district considers the best path forward to utilize the approximate $185 million budget for the third phase of the capital construction bond, the parents and community residents of Lake Grove expressed concerns that their voices were not heard and that the decisions were already made.
“It is not the school district’s responsibility to accommodate the city’s hopes and dreams at the expense of our students,” said LOSD parent Nicole Imatani during public comments. “Our Mayor Joe Buck stated and I quote, ‘The vision could provide an anchor of human connectivity, growth and lifelong learning articulated in the Lake Grove Village Center Plan.’ We already have that — it’s called Lake Grove Elementary.”
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