REDMOND, OR -- Voters will decide in November whether Redmond Schools will millions of dollars for upgrades around the district. The School Board unanimously approved the bond package this week.

"We put it together so we’re trying to make a significant investment in Redmond schools without raising anyone’s taxes," says Superintendent Dr. Charan Cline, "And that’s really the important part is keeping the tax rates the same." He tells KBND News property taxes wouldn't go up because the new bond - if approved by voters this fall - would replace an expiring bond. "We’ve got this long term plan. The first one was for $27 million. We’ve been able to leverage money from the state, from Energy Trust to put in over $40 million worth of work into the schools. Our next bond is $97 million. Again, it doesn’t raise taxes."

This summer, crews wrap up work on projects funded by that $27 million bond approved in 2020, "Hugh Hartman Elementary School is getting its HVAC system completely redone. Redmond High, we’re getting started on it; we’re doing what’s called the dry side, that’s what our folks call it. These are things like the fan, the duct work."

The 2024 bond package would pay for maintenance and repairs around the district, "At Redmond High, we’ll work on replacing the pipes that bring the hot water from the boilers to the heat exchangers. They’re failing and we’re worried about them just having a catastrophic failure and so we’ve got to replace all that." Also on the project list is the expansion of Tumalo Community School to return it to a K-through-eight campus, and security upgrades at Ridgeview High.

A previous proposal to consolidate RHS and Ridgeview was dropped by the district earlier this year, following substantial community outcry.