As parents and a grandparent of students in our exceptional schools, we are proud of the many achievements of the more than 18,000 students in Bend-La Pine Schools. As co-chairs for the YES for Schools campaign and local business owners, we strongly support the Bend-La Pine Schools construction bond as we believe it will provide a valuable investment in our schools and in the future of our community.

Our schools appreciate support from our community as they focus on continuously improving learning environments for all students. One critical component of this focus is investment in facilities to safely maintain and preserve the school buildings in which our children learn each day.

The majority of our schools are 30 to 100 years old and, while these facilities have been well cared for during the years, it is necessary to modernize aging facilities to keep pace with community demands. Some of the maintenance projects will result in a cost savings for our schools. Replacing and updating inefficient windows and heating systems, for instance, will save the district money in energy costs, which will mean more money that can be invested in our classrooms and teachers. Investments like this just make sense.

Many of our schools are becoming overcrowded from years of steady enrollment growth. Demographic experts say that another 3,000 students will arrive at our doors in the next 10 years. Already, our schools are overcrowded: Schools this year utilized staff rooms, libraries and modular classrooms as instruction space. Students eat lunch in hallways and stairways because cafeterias are full. Our schools will only become more crowded if we do not act to build new schools and add instruction space at our most-crowded schools.

Student safety should be a priority for our community. That’s why this bond includes many upgrades in the areas of safety and health. Projects would improve visitor visibility and make updates to safety devices.

All of the projects included in this bond were vetted by a committee of staff and community members — the 159 projects included are those that were deemed critical to be completed in the upcoming years.

Oregon’s funding structure is unique in that it does NOT provide schools with funding for these projects and construction of new schools — neither do local system development charges assessed when new homes are built in town. This means that local communities must come together to invest in the preservation of existing facilities and construction of new schools. Without construction dollars dedicated to this work, Bend-La Pine Schools and school districts statewide face the bleak reality that their operating funds — dollars used to employ teachers, bus drivers, counselors, and the like — will be diverted to replacement of failing HVAC systems, 
broken windows and roofs. The result? Not just overcrowded schools, but huge class sizes, fewer teachers and overall reduced support for students.

Now is the right time to come together in support of all students. We can build new schools and update decades-old classrooms, preserve our current buildings, deliver important safety projects, create energy efficiencies that will save tens of thousands of dollars by voting YES for measure 9-114.

Inside the Deschutes County voters’ pamphlet, you will find several letters in favor of this construction bond. We urge you to read what your friends, neighbors and community leaders have to say in support of new schools and essential projects to preserve some of our community’s greatest assets — its schools — and why they are all voting YES.

Please join us and thousands of Central Oregon school supporters voting YES on May 16.

— Michele Emery is the owner of the business Earth2o Water, and Neil Bryant is an attorney and shareholder 
of Bryant, Lovlien and Jarvis
 and a former state senator.

All of the projects included in this bond were vetted by a committee of staff and community members — the 159 projects included are those that were deemed critical to be completed in the upcoming years. Oregon’s funding structure is unique in that it does NOT provide schools with funding for these projects and construction of new schools