“Thank You Voters!” is the message at the top of the Lake Oswego School District’s website Wednesday.
Lake Oswego is one of two suburban districts in Clackamas County with a history of supporting school taxes that are on track to again have construction bond money available for projects. But two other Oregon school districts fell short of the voter support they needed.
Recent projects in the Lake Oswego School District include the construction of River Grove Elementary School. Voters in Lake Oswego approved a $245 million bond Nov. 4, 2025, to continue its efforts improve and replace school facilities.
Courtesy of Lake Oswego School District / Oregon Capital Chronicle
In Lake Oswego, voters are supporting a $245 million bond with 71% of ballots in favor. District officials say the bond measure maintains the current tax rate at about $2.90 per $1,000 in assessed value.
“This bond’s passage reflects our shared commitment to educational excellence and our collective belief in providing safe, inspiring spaces where every student can learn and thrive,” Lake Oswego School District Superintendent Jennifer Schiele said in a press release Wednesday afternoon.
Lake Oswego’s most high-profile projects include the reconstruction of two school campuses: Forest Hills and Lake Grove elementary schools. The latest bond plans also include safety, security and seismic improvements across the nearly 6,800-student district.
But Lake Oswego’s large margin of victory wasn’t widely shared in the state. The Oregon School Boards Association concluded that close contests and defeats elsewhere in the state “hint at facilities challenges facing many Oregon school districts.”
Initial returns in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District, right next to Lake Oswego, showed that district’s school bond passing narrowly. The “yes” side had 52% of the vote Wednesday morning — a lead of just over 500 votes. Assuming the bond is eventually successful, it will maintain the current $1.06 per $1,000 in assessed value, which election materials summarized as having “no expected increase to the current tax rate.”
Planned construction work in the 9,000-student district includes roof replacements and projects ranging from fire safety and electrical system improvements to new sidewalks. The bond’s passage would allow the district to receive $6.1 million in matching state funds.
But while renewals are passing in suburban districts, proposals to support projects at rural schools — through increased property taxes — are failing. Also in Clackamas County, the Oregon Trail School District, centered around Sandy and villages on Mt. Hood, was seeing its proposed bond losing decisively in initial returns.
The $172.2 million bond relied on voters approving an increase of $1.12 per $1,000 in assessed value. Bond funds would have gone toward addressing aging systems, including HVAC, electrical and plumbing. It would also move students out of modular classrooms. Like West Linn-Wilsonville, $6.1 million in matching funds from the state was available to Oregon Trail’s construction efforts. But Oregon Trail won’t get that money, because it was contingent on voter approval of the larger, local bond.
The dynamic of asking rural voters to approve a property tax increase was also at play in the 500-student Athena-Weston School District in Umatilla County. Voters were voting “no” at a 56% rate, rejecting the continuation of a long-term construction effort they supported in 2016.
The tax rate going to an Athena-Weston school bond would have increased by $1.47 per $1,000 in assessed value to a rate of $2.86 per $1,000. According to the Athena-Weston district’s frequently asked questions about he measure, the average homeowner would have paid an additional $25 per month in property taxes to support the bond increase. Athena-Weston was eligible for an additional $10.2 million from the state, but only if voters had passed the local bond measure.
