Estacada School District

Building a Better Bond Proposal

The average Estacada School District building is over 60 years old, and it’s starting to show.  Plumbing and electrical systems are failing, roofs are leaking, and classrooms no longer accommodate the growing number of students. Many buildings lack effective fire suppression, while others aren’t ADA accessible. On top of it all, air conditioning is nonexistent.

To make necessary upgrades and address overcrowding, the district decided to run a school bond campaign. But before they made any promises to taxpayers, they needed to know how much they could accomplish if the measure was approved.

  • Location: Estacada, OR

    Size: varies

    Cost: $149M

    Duration: 1 month

    Estimated Completion: August 2023

  • Client: Estacada School District

    Architect: TBD

    GC: TBD

  • Construction Pre-Planning

    Cost Estimating

    Scenario Planning

To make necessary upgrades and address overcrowding, the district decided to run a school bond campaign. But before they made any promises to taxpayers, they needed to know how much they could accomplish if the measure was approved.

Our deep expertise in educational facility construction management, scoping, pre-planning and budgeting, Klosh Group was the perfect partner to help them draft a bond proposal that can deliver on its promises.

A matter of priorities

The district had a lot of projects on their wish list—so they’d have to be strategic about how to maximize the community’s investment. Working with our client, we helped identify their biggest priorities, which fell into three different categories: Improve Safety & Security, Address Overcrowding, and Update Aging Schools.

From there, it was all about exploring what could be achieved with the district’s estimated $149 million budget. We conducted extensive scope work and created cost estimates for every desired project on the district’s list. Then we built over 20 different packages of options to help district stakeholders decide which projects should go in the bond—and what should be left out.

Using our insights and cost data, they landed on the following:

  • Build a new high school ($114 million)

  • Renovate and repurpose the old high school as a new junior high school ($8 million)

  • Transform Estacada Middle School into a third elementary school ($1 million)

  • Improve student safety and complete essential repairs ($12 million)

  • Install climate control and air conditioning at all schools ($4 million)

  • Create all-season athletic and extracurricular fields ($10 million)

Honest and defensible numbers

Taxpayers want to know that if they put their money behind a school bond, they’ll get what they paid for. Our detailed scope work allows our client to show that they’ve done their due diligence and helps assure voters that the bond is worthy of their support.

When the bond goes to a vote in 2024, it can be backed by reliable data and honest, defensible numbers. And the benefits of our work extend beyond the vote—because if the bond passes, our thorough pre-planning will give the construction team a strong head start. More importantly, it will pave the way for a better educational experience in Estacada.