New G.P. school bond heads to voters

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — This November, Grants Pass School District 7 is hoping to pass a new school bond.

The bond was approved at a board meeting in August.

A large sum of the money would be used to replace North Middle School.

The bond is different than the one rejected by voters in 2018. It’s lower in price and the amount of time taxpayers have to pay it off.

Last year’s bond would have cost taxpayers 138-million dollars over 30 years. This bond would cost 95.63-million dollars to be paid over 10 years.

Additionally, instead of asking to replace both North and South Middle Schools, the new bond is only asking to replace North.

The superintendent of Grants Pass School District 7 says that school is in critical need of some upgrades.

“There are places in the hallway where the center of the hallway sits six inches lower than the walls on the two sides of the hallway. Definitely structurally you can see the cracks in the building,” said Kirk Kolb, superintendent of Grants Pass School District 7.

Some other upgrades include replacing old boilers with new H-VAC systems, getting new roofs, and improving security so students would have to buzz-in before entering the campus.

If the bond fails, Kolb says they’ll continue to ask the community what they will support.

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