Portland Board To Discuss School Buildings

EDUCATION 

By Andrew Theen

Portland, OR  March 3, 2008 9:13 a.m.

The Portland School Board will discuss Monday what to do with the district's crumbling facilities. Andrew Theen reports.

Last week district officials said 10 schools are in such dire shape they should be demolished and re-built from scratch.

Board member David Wynde said he wasn't surprised when a recent study said all-told it would cost the district a billion dollars to revamp facilities.

Wynde says the board will be thoughtful in its solutions, but there is a sense of urgency.

David Wynde: "At some point the only source of significant capital for us is a bond measure.  Whether that's in November or a subsequent time, it's too early to say."

Wynde says it took "a generation" to get into this mess, and that it will take time to get out of it.

He did cite the new Rosa Parks Elementary as an award-winning model of how to build a new school successfully.

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© 2008 OPB