72. 79. 96. Even 98 years old.
These are just a few of the ages of school buildings still being used in Oregon. They’re much older than 49, the national average age of school buildings, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Tuesday night, a number of Oregon school districts asked voters to support multimillion-dollar bonds to replace or modernize these school buildings, as well as pay for safety and security upgrades, like new roofs, emergency alert systems, and new classrooms.
FILE - Bbond-related construction at David Douglas High School on Sept. 4, 2024.
Elizabeth Miller / OPB
Bonds in seven districts passed: In the Willamette Valley, bond measures in North Clackamas, Gladstone, Reynolds, Silver Falls and Hillsboro won voter approval. In Southern Oregon, bonds were passing in Grants Pass and Glide. A $48 million bond for Harney County School District No. 3 failed.
In the Gladstone School District, which serves about 1,600 students in Clackamas County, voters appear to be passing a $55.3 million bond. The district will receive an additional $10.2 million through state matching funds.
“We can do a lot with that, and we know what we need to do,” said Gladstone interim superintendent Karen Gray. “Nothing that we’re doing is very sexy. It is all very infrastructure upgrading and repair. And that’s gonna last us for years and years.”
All of the school districts with bonds that pass in this election will receive matching state funds of varying amounts. The Harney County district, which was approved for a state matching grant of $10.2 million, will not receive that money because the bond failed.
Nationally and in Oregon, voter-approved bonds and taxes are the main way school facilities get updated. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ Infrastructure Report Card gave the country a “D+” on schools. In Oregon, the list of school needs can be long, from HVAC repairs to leaky roofs.
FILE - Voters across Oregon weighed in on tax levies and school bonds in the May 16, 2017 election.
Alan Sylvestre / OPB
But school districts also go to voters for opportunities to upgrade facilities — not just fix them. In the Reynolds School District, voters approved a $162.5 million bond that would replace 72-year-old Glenfair Elementary, but also build a new turf field and bleachers at Reynolds High School. New turf and bleachers mean that the school may be able to move its home football games from Mt. Hood Community College to the high school campus.
In Hillsboro, voters appear to be supporting safety upgrades as well as a new classroom for Liberty High School’s fire science program, which helps students learn more about working in emergency services, forestry, and firefighting. Over half of the district’s $430 million bond is set to go to roofing, seismic improvements, plumbing and other building updates.
“Putting this bond together was no small task, and in fact was the culmination of almost two years of planning, assessing schools’ needs, drafting a package of projects along with help from a variety of constituents and consultants, gathering input from the community, and raising awareness,” said Superintendent Travis Reiman in a press release.
The Glide School District serves about 700 students. Under the voter-approved $16.5 million bond, the district in Douglas County will construct new buildings on the elementary, middle, and high school campuses. Two new buildings planned for the district’s athletic complex will be able to host community events, as well as an indoor space for athletics.
In Silver Falls, voters approved a plan to consolidate three aging elementary schools into one K-8 school, as well as replace Silverton Middle School.
In Gladstone, it’s been almost 20 years since voters approved a school bond. In 2025, voters rejected a bond for $70 million. This time around, Gray said a smaller financial ask and a political action committee helped get the community to support the district.
“Our motto is ‘growing good people’, that’s what they believe in,” Gray said. “They showed it last night. They showed that if you tell us exactly clearly what you’re gonna do and it is affordable, we’re going to support you all the way.”
A committee will oversee work under the bond.
The only school levy up for a vote in Oregon passed too. That’s in Corvallis, which has been renewing the same levy for staff for 20 years.
