Portland Schools Move Forward on Seeking Record Bond From Voters

Portland Public Schools moved closer Tuesday to asking voters to approve a $750 million bond measure that would rebuild two high schools, provide significant changes to one middle school, and major environmental changes throughout the system.

It is more than 50 percent bigger than the district's last bond and would be the largest construction bond any local government entity has placed on the ballot.

Ever.

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The bond would provide for the rebuilding of Lincoln and Madison High Schools and a complete refurbishing of Kellogg Middle School to get it ready to once again receive students.

The bond would also provide for $300 million to provide environmental improvements throughout the system.

A plan to originally include rebuilding Benson Polytechnic High School would be broken into components that would be paid for in part by this bond measure and by a second measure planned for 2020.

The district had to decide between including a rebuild of Benson or including more environmental and safety fixes - working on projects like, seismic stability, and fixes for lead and radon.

Polling done for the district indicated a strong support for the safety and environmental fixes.

If approved by voters, the measure would increase property tax bills by $1.04 per $1,000 of assessed value.