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Medford school bond spares JacksonThe Medford School Board agreed Tuesday to save Jackson Elementary from closure, calling a nearly $189 million bond election to renovate the 95-year-old school in west Medford and 17 other campuses. A Medford School District facilities planning committee recommended a bond package May 2 that involved shuttering Jackson to free up money for opening and operating a third middle school at South Medford High after a new high school had been built. The School Board decided to hold off on a third middle school indefinitely in favor of keeping Jackson open. "After looking at the wonderful things they are doing at Jackson and the successes they've had, it appeared to everybody that keeping Jackson open was something we wanted to do," said board member Randi Rigby. The approved bond measure, set for Nov. 7, includes building a new South Medford High at Columbus and Cunningham avenues and replacing Lone Pine Elementary. Jackson, North Medford High, Oak Grove Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary and Washington Elementary would undergo major remodeling. The existing South High would also be renovated to house displaced pupils during construction at their respective schools in the next five to six years. The district's 10 other campuses would receive repairs and upgrades, such as air-conditioning and asbestos removal. "This bond measure represents something that will protect the community investment in schools," said Larry Nicholson, board chairman. "It will improve student safety throughout the district." Parents, pupils and staff from Jackson Elementary and other audience members at the board meeting Tuesday applauded the board's decision. One mother, Sarah Felder, who walks her fourth-grade son, Richard, to Jackson every day, put her hand to her heart and blinked back tears. "I'm extremely happy," Felder said. The school offers a host of services to its high poverty and limited English populations. Parents and pupils at Jackson Elementary said they depend on being able to walk to the school to attend after-school activities, many of which they wouldn't make if they had to drive. The nearly $189 million bond measure is only $300,000 less than the bond package recommended by the facilities planning committee. To make way for the $5.8 million renovation of Jackson without increasing the bond amount, the board cut about $6.1 million in construction costs, including building a total of 10 additional classrooms at Roosevelt Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary and Washington Elementary. The classrooms had been meant to accommodate incoming pupils if Jackson had closed. The board also eliminated construction of a new gym and some seismic upgrades at Washington Elementary, which would have been needed for the additional classrooms. Construction of a new cafeteria and central administration wing at South Medford High for the proposed third middle school also was scrapped. Other savings came from a miscalculation of the cost of moving network telecommunication services, purchasing and maintenance from property at Mace Road to South High at Oakdale. Curt Turner, father of two Jackson pupils, said the proposal to close their neighborhood school turned out to be "a blessing in disguise." Members of the Jackson Parent-Teacher Organization sometimes complained that there wasn't enough parent and community involvement at the school. In the wake of the May 2 proposal to close Jackson, parents and community members launched a petition-signing campaign, turned out in droves at a bond hearing and held demonstrations in support of keeping the school open. "If the district didn't stir us we wouldn't have ever organized as a community," Turner said. "It reminds me of World War II. They awakened the stirring giant." In other business, the board named Debra Connolly, reading coach at Howard Elementary, as principal of Abraham Lincoln Elementary. Connolly will replace Art Peterson, who retired. The board hired Rick Snyder, principal of Roosevelt Elementary in Klamath Falls, as the new principal of Jacksonville Elementary to replace Bob Goerke. Terri Dahl, a special education teacher at Washington Elementary, will be the new principal of Ruch Elementary. Dahl will fill the post of Ed Nicholson, who will retire. Reach reporter Paris Achen by calling 541-776-4459 or pachen@mailtribune.com. |
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Jackson School parents Sarah Felder, right, Tracee Turner, second from right, and fourth-grader Richard Felder listen to the discussion Tuesday night over a proposed school bond measure. (Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli)
