Leaders unite around Bond for new high school in The Dalles

County Commissioner and retired Chemistry Teacher Phil Brady explains to the audience the difficulty in teaching at the current high school, noting teachers have been flexing and adjusting for decades to make cut-up classrooms work. The Dalles High School is now 82 years old and many of its classrooms are broken up into spaces too small to teach the current student population. Audience members at this meeting were listening intently about the prospects of passing a bond for a new high school that will make it easier to recruit people to The Dalles and give past students a good reason to come home and contribute to the community.

By Tom Peterson

The Dalles, Ore., Aug. 27, 2023 - Supporters of a new high school in The Dalles are hoping the time is right for a simpler bond that focuses solely on building a new campus on the district-owned fields of the Wahtonka grounds at the ballot box on Nov. 7.

There are just 72 days left until election day.

The bond would go toward a 167,000-square-foot building capable of holding 950 students and would enable career and technical education and include enough common spaces and a cafeteria space to accommodate the student population.

Supporters know it is a tough argument to make as some voters are quite critical when it comes to dishing out more money for Wasco County Property Taxes. They also know the cost to taxpayers goes up every year a bond does not pass. 

Time is of the essence as the current 82-year-old building has come to the end of its life as an efficient high school.

The Dalles City Mayor opened the meeting on Aug. 14th at The Dalles Civic Auditorium noting Commissioners Phil Brady, Scott Hege, City Councilor Dan Richardson, and State Sen. Daniel Bonham, who was not in attendance, were in favor of passing a bond for a new The Dalles High School on Nov. 7. “How do we get out the vote,” Mays asked. “We talk to our friends and family and provide them credible information.”

The bond asks voters for $140 million over 30 years. A recent analysis conducted by the Piper Sandler Public Finance Team put the rate at $2.73 per $1,000 of assessed property value. 

The average assessed property value in Wasco County sits at $220,000 - meaning a homeowner with that value would see an increase in property taxes for the bond of about $600 or $50 a month.

District 21 Board Member Jose Aparicio was well aware of the situation during a meeting at the Civic Auditorium earlier this month.

But he was also emboldened by the amount of people that showed up in support of a new school - some 50 local leaders and citizens. 

“What this boils down to is simple,” Aparico said.

“Are we ready to pay it forward for the kids in this community? This tells me, emphatically, yes,” he said looking at the group. 

If the bond is approved, here is the timeline:

• The district would put together a design team that would develop a site plan for the school in 2025 and then go out for bids for a general contractor.

• The construction of the school would take two years, starting in the summer of 2025.

• The school would open in 2027.

TDHS in Good Shape?

The south side of The Dalles High School is exposed to high heat, especially in the fall and late spring when temperatures soar in the classrooms. The District has tried to make do with window coverings and small air conditioners, but temps can hit 90 plus when the sun is on. A new high school would allow for double-paned windows and a modern HVAC system that would provide heat and air, making the learning environment more hospitable. But that will be up to voters come Nov. 7.

While poling to see if there was enough voter support for the bond, questions were also asked regarding the condition of the high school. Surprisingly, one-third of the 400 people polled said: “good.” 

Reading into that data, it shows that many in the community do not have a touch point with the school - meaning no grandkids or kids in the school, Aparicio said.

This is not an uncommon problem as some locals do not have children or grandchildren in the school system giving them few chances to walk through and see the school.

While the school is past the point of usefulness as a high school, the district plans to utilize the building for administration offices and there would be opportunities for other agencies such as early childhood learning to also take up space in the building, making it a possible for a one-stop shop for child services. Gladstone, reutilzed a school building in this very way, Aparicio pointed out.

Administrative offices across from the Wahtonka Campus could then be designated as surplus and sold and proceeds would be put in the district’s capital improvement fund, which is used to address maintenance issues at all of the district schools.

What about selling the 100 acres owned by the District in Columbia View Heights?

The School District is moving forward on plans to sell some 65 acres of the land while retaining 35 acres for a future school site. Aparicio said the district is currently going through the valuation process while working with a realtor to prepare the property to be surplus and sold if the bond succeeds.

If the raw land was valued at $13,000 an acre and it sold at that price, 65 acres would bring $845,000 gross proceeds.

Proceeds from that sale would also go toward that capital improvements fund to assist with repairs to Col. Wright Elementary, built in 1924, Dry Hollow Elementary, built in 1960 and  Chenowith Elementary, Built in 1962 are all in need of additional repairs. The Dalles Middle School, now at 20 years old, is also needing attention.  

That capital improvement fund will also receive some $500,000 annually in Google Community Fees as the new data centers come online. 

Lessons from the Past 

Aparicio said the failed bond in 2018 was the main reason he ran for his seat on the school board in 2019. 

The bond measure in 2018 for $235 million was “too complicated” with different rates from former D9 and D12 taxing districts, and it also lacked additional grant funding from the state. 

“It inspired me to run,” he said.

He pointed out that six of the seven school board members are new since that failed bond and that they have put in the work to bring forward a simpler bond with state grants.

Community Involvement in Bond Decision

A community advisory committee was established in 2022 that had the responsibility of studying the facility condition reports is typically limited to 10 or 12 people. However, in this case, Aparicio said 60 community members were involved in the review and came to the conclusion that the high school needed to be replaced, which would provide the greatest amount of good.

“At the end of the day all of our students end up at TDHS, no matter where you grew up in the district or what elementary or middle school you went to,” Aparicio said.

What will happen to the TDHS building?

If the bond passes, School administrators would move into the TDHS building and there would be chances for other agencies such as early childhood learning to also take up space in the building, making it possible for a one-stop shop for child services. Gladstone, reutilzed a school building in this very way, Aparicio pointed out.

Gladstone repurposed a school building to accommodate services for children and families. This provided a concept for the use of the current The Dalles High School if the bond passes in November. The old high school could also be used to house similar services as well as the District 21 Administrative offices.

Administrative offices across from the Wahtonka Campus could then be surplus and sold, and proceeds would be put in the district’s capital improvement fund, which is used to address maintenance issues at all of the district schools.

What about selling the 100 acres owned by the District in Columbia View Heights?

The School District is moving forward on plans to sell some 65 acres of the land while retaining 35 acres for a future school site. Aparicio said the district is currently going through the valuation process while working with a realtor to prepare the property to be surplus and sold. Proceeds from that sale would also go toward that capital improvements fund to assist with repairs to Col. Wright Elementary, built in 1924, Dry Hollow Elementary, built in 1960 and  Chenowith Elementary, Built in 1962 are all in need of additional repairs. 

That capital improvement fund will also receive some $500,000 in Google Community Fees annually as the new data centers at 3400 River Road come online. 

If the raw land was valued at $20,000 an acre and it sold at that price, 65 acres would bring $1.3 million in gross proceeds.

State would kick in $4 million

The District and School Board have done the groundwork for capitalizing on grants to assist in the school development. 

In 2019, the district completed a long-range facilities plan and strategic plan which are necessary for receiving the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching grant which will provide $4 million to the construction fund if the bond passes.

It’s the same money that both Maupin and Dufur received after passing bonds to improve their schools in recent years.

The D21 facilities plan was used to do a full-building survey of all the schools in the district, and it found that The Dalles High School was ‘not adequate’ under its rating system. It rated 1.4 out of a total of 4 points possible. Wahtonka scored a 1.2 To read more about the current condition of The Dalles High School click here.  That made a new high school eligible for the grant.

But here’s the catch. If the bond does not pass, the District will be in the position of having to restart the grant process as long-range facilities plan has a sunset of 4 years or in 2024. And without a current one, a district does not qualify for the $4-million state grant.

Paying it Forward 

When voters are asked to fund a new school, especially when they do not have children in the system, it can be difficult to understand the importance of putting money behind the cause.

What gets lost in that thought is that many have had the advantage of going to a school that was already paid for, thus reaping the benefit of investments made by taxpayers who came before us.