$8 million in Dufur School Improvements mostly complete
Dufur School Superintendent Jack Henderson in his Ranger red mask shows off the front entrance to the school after an $8-million remodel that included, parking, traffic pattern changes, updated classrooms and more.
By Tom Peterson
On Tuesday, Jack Henderson pointed to an area inside Dufur School - it’s the old entrance to the building, originally finished in 1956.
It’s a place where ice and snow used to collect on the roof up above, the Dufur School Superintendent said. And below it, students congregated there after recess before going back into the building. But two years ago, the ice and snow from a major February storm came crashing down in the very place the students had been standing.
“It’s lucky no one was injured,” Henderson said.
Now the cue point is within a new foyer, under a new roof, and the chance of such an ice collapse is gone.
The $8 million renovation of the school, which includes parking, new roads and altered traffic loops, building upgrades, and a football field leveling is near its finish, said Dufur School Board Member Cynthia Kortge.
“I think it’s a beautiful building,” said Dufur Senior Kierstin White. But she lamented the fact that she might not get to see the inside of it for months due to the pandemic. “It’s a nice improvement for sure.” Dufur is expected to start on-line classes on Sept. 14th.
More than 68 percent of voters approved the $4-million bond back in 2018 and it was coupled with a $4- million Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching grant- which is funded by the Oregon School fund based on the U.S. Census school population numbers and poverty statistics.
“It’s incredible to have that overall sense of accomplishment to make the school a safe space,” Kortge said. “It will be an incredible environment for years to come. All the activity in the community happens at the school. I’m thrilled to see it come to fruition.”
Safety-connected repairs and upgrades were at the forefront of expenditures, she and Henderson said.
The money allowed for creating a school that can be locked down in the event of a violent intruder. The new foyer at the front of the building, complete with Dufur’s Victory Bell, has funneled visitors to a single entrance where they can be easily screened.
Busses now have their own access point off Klinger St. to Dufur School removing them from the main parking lot, easing congestion and making it safer for pedestrians and drivers.
The parking lot at the school has also been reconfigured so that buses have an entirely separate street - Klinger St. - for entrance.
Prior to the upgrades cars, buses and pedestrians all had to navigate the front parking lot.
“Kids would be running, busses loading, high school kids leaving -- it was a disaster waiting to happen,” Kortge said.
That’s no longer the case with 100s of feet of new sidewalks and designated walking paths and a proper turn around at the front of the school. Crumbling asphalt is now brand new.
The bond also paid for upgrading a technology room into a preschool classroom,” Henderson said. Dufur School has been offering preschool for 8 years, and they also have a class at Celilo Village near the Mouth of the Deschutes River.
The bond also covered leveling the football field, which had a slope of 7 feet 6 inches, Henderson said, noting Monte Wasson discovered the slope in 2001 while surveying the site for light posts. Also, the school now has a dedicated concession booth and new bathrooms, which will be used for both indoor and outdoor sporting events.
Other major improvements at the school include:
Removal of asbestos from the boiler room and one class room.
New bleachers in both gymnasium
Adding parking lot lights
Adding drainage to the property so that neighbors don’t receive runoff
Added square footage to the library for after school activities
New heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units installed complete with ducting
Finishing two classrooms that were framed in during the last school bond, allowing for middle school student classes to be clustered in one area.
And more work is yet to come. Henderson and Kortge said the district is now working on erecting a new bus barn kitty corner from the southwest corner of the football field. Eighty percent of the cost will be reimbursed through Oregon Department of Education’s transportation fund over the next several years.
Some history was captured in the window frames in the new Foyer at the school. Old bleachers that were upgraded in the gymnasiums were repurposed.
Parking and a turnaround now front the school, complete with sidewalks.
This former technology room had a major renovation and will now be used for preschool made possible by the 2018 voter approved bond.
This path will eventually provide additional walking area for students coming to Dufur School.
A new indoor concession stand and public bathrooms are just feet away from both the gymnasiums as well as the football field for easy access during sporting events.
