PRINEVILLE, OR -- The Crook County School board this week unanimously approved sending a bond measure to the May ballot. Chief Financial Officer Anna Logan told them if the $11 million bond is approved this spring, it would unlock an additional $6 million grant, "That’s the most we’ve ever been awarded. The limit just recently went up to $6 million, so it’s probably the most that any of these districts have ever been awarded. But sometimes we don’t even get on the list."

That $17 million total would cover a short list of immediate needs. "Basically roofs, boilers and security. It’s a very simple, straightforward bond; very limited, fairly small," Logan told the board. Multiple roofs were damaged by the recent winter storm and Logan says $5 million is needed for a major project at Crook County Middle School, "The boiler system and potentially HVAC, but we’re not exactly sure because there’s a lot of work that’s going to need to go into figuring out the details before we actually do anything with this. But our estimate is $5 million."

Facilities Director Leland Bliss says the boiler system at CCMS is 75 years old and it would be cheaper to do that work during the roof replacement, "We want to try to take advantage of the section of the building where there’s just a crawlspace, when we tear that roof off. There would be some savings of us trying to get equipment into those spaces while we’ve got the roof off."

Logan also told the school board Crook County Schools has the lowest tax rate of any local district with a bond, "Meaning our taxpayers pay the least amount for school facilities, right now, in taxes." She says, "If we were to pass the bond that we’re proposing, that would be an additional 10 cents above and beyond our current 62 cents. So, that would put it at 72 cents, which is still one of the lowest tax rates; it’s less than a dollar. So, it would be one of the lowest tax rates around and the lowest in Central Oregon."

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