A community meeting on the $75 million bond measure the Canby School District is considering placing on the ballot for the May primary election has been postponed again. The meeting was initially set for Jan. 14, then re-set for 6-8 p.m. Feb. 3 in the library of the Ackerman Center.
In an email from CSD Communications Coordinator Autumn Foster Tuesday, the district announced the meeting had been pushed back again.
“The Bond Development Committee is not yet ready to present a bond package to the community for feedback,” Foster said. “This meeting will be rescheduled and a new invitation will be sent as soon as information is available.”
It’s unclear exactly how this affects the timeline originally established by the district and its team of bond consultants. That schedule had actually included time for two community input sessions, and had anticipated that the Canby School Board would get their first look at the final bond package during their Feb. 6 work session.
Their vote on whether to move forward on placing the bond on the May ballot had been set for a special meeting on Feb. 11. The deadline to place a measure on the ballot for the May primary is Feb. 28.
Foster said the district still plans to hold two community meetings. A revised timeline is being developed that will be presented to the school board at their regular session this Thursday, Jan. 23.
The district could place a bond measure on the ballots for either the May or November elections this year without an anticipated tax increase. The measure, if passed, would extend the rates from the bond that built Baker Prairie Middle School 15 years ago.
However, if the district fails to pass a measure this year, any future proposal would then represent a tax increase, which would be a much more difficult challenge.
There is also the matter of a $4.8 million matching grant the district can collect from the Oregon Office of School Facilities, but only if they pass a bond measure in May. This award will have expired by November, and the district would have to reapply for funding, with no guarantee of receiving it.
The bond would address high-need facility maintenance and improvement projects, safety and technology updates, and educational and vocational upgrades that would expand science labs and increase opportunities for hands-on learning.
