FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The district has been a good steward of taxpayer resources and has been working to address routine maintenance as it arises. Additionally, over time, the district has completed an addition to the main building, HVAC upgrades, and recently repaved parking areas.  However, the majority of the building is 20+ years old and all available rooms for student programming have been utilized. Additionally, changes and advances in education require a different approach to teaching and learning today and we need to ensure that our facilities are up to date to meet the changing needs of teachers and students.

We started with an in-depth review of all our facilities, including details such as indoor air quality, CO2 levels, light and noise levels, adequacy of learning environments, safety, etc.  An independent architectural and engineering firm did this review and presented findings to the School Board.

Many variables effect the timing of completion when considering all buildings will have work being completed.  Items that need to be considered include contractor availability, storage for classroom furniture and equipment, and new equipment and material lead times.  It would be the intention to start the construction in the spring of 2025.

We did a needs-inventory due to the age of our building and wanted to ensure it was maintained as needed in a timely manner.  This work took place approximately one year ago.  In turn, surveys with staff members and community members were conducted to get their input on what “we needed” to best educate our students.

• This tax credit reduces the burden for agricultural property owners on existing and future school bonds.

• Ag2School is a 70% automatic tax credit on agricultural homestead property tax bills payable in 2023 and beyond.

• In 2024, the State will pay approximately $4,368,100 (22%) of the $19,855,000 total bond (both questions).

• Debt Service Equalization program, first operated in 1993, offers state aid to certain school districts to help them repay debt used to construct or renovate school buildings and other facilities. 

• Some school districts have large tax bases (the value of taxable property within a school district on which property taxes are levied), but others do not. The Debt Service Equalization program offers state aid to help offset or “equalize” such variation in school district property taxes due to varying levels of property wealth.

• This helps ensure that all school districts, regardless of property wealth, can provide adequate education facilities for their students.

• In 2024, through Debt Equalization, the State will pay approximately $2,779,700 (14%) of the $19,855,000 total bond (both questions).

Separate line-item accounting records must be kept for all bond related expenses to ensure the funds are being used legally and appropriately.  The School District's finances are audited annually including the use of referendum funds.  The referendum project expenses would be a part of the annual audit until all funds are spent.

We pride ourselves on being a district families want to enroll in and be a part of.  While open enrollment families do not pay local taxes (they pay in their home district), each non-resident student brings their full state aid with them.

Open enrollment optimizes class size and can be closed if grade levels fill. More students means more state funding.  It costs far less in incremental costs to educate and house open-enrolled students. The value of the state aid open enrolled students bring, provides a surplus for additional programming. This additional yearly revenue benefits program expansion, upper-level courses, teacher retention, utility costs, and allows us to operate efficiently with optimal class sizes.

The numbers:

• 54% resident students enrolled in the district K-12

• 46% open enrolled students in the district

• Nearly $2,974,728.22 from open enrolled students

No, you must be a resident and live in the district to vote.

The current commons will stay as it is.  The new space (commons) will lead to the new wing of classrooms. This space will have some high top tables/couches which could add to potential seating during lunch hours and will look similar to the high school entrance.

We currently have safe and secure entrances, a top end camera system, which will be added onto with the new spaces, and a keyless entry system.  As far as technology we have 1:1 technology for our students with newer devices, smartboards and or big screen tv's where we use Chromecast.  Ideally we would use our additional new space to expand our robotics and STEM programs.

We will have to reconfigure the blacktop and add to the southside of the equipment.  We ultimately would like to expand to the west past the existing path but this may be a project that is pursued at a later date.

The funding is the same.

In this referendum, we were focused primarily on creating spaces for continued learning growth of our students.  While this referendum does not specifically address the track, we are planning to put forth Long-Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) dollars in the future to address the track.

We also have met with Fisher Track several times over the past 1-2 years to have them look at our track and determine the needs. It was determined that crack fill and patching are appropriate at this time.  We plan to do this and repaint the lines.

JANUARY 2022 - MARCH 2022

MASTER PLANNING AND REVIEW

• Comprehensive Facilities Assessment conducted by SitelogIQ to assess physical, educational, and functional needs.

• Internal staff comfort and functional needs surveys completed.

• Facility Assessment Review where asset condition assessments and survey data are presented to the school board and District administration.

• Solutions and Funding Review including prioritizations, project scenarios, and potential cost budgets to solutions are presented to the school board and District administration.

SEPTEMBER 2022 - NOVEMBER 2022

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

• The Community Engagement process begins and the Community Facility Advisory Committee is formed.

• The Community Facility Advisory Committee reviews data from the Assessment Review phase, tours the facilities, learns more about District finances and has an opportunity to provide input, feedback, opinions and vision.

NOVEMBER 2022 - JULY 2023

WORKSHOPPING

• Community Facility Advisory Committee reports their findings, from facility tours and meetings, to the School Board.

• Community survey is conducted (353 responses / 18%) and report made to the School Board.

• School Board begins workshopping potential facility solutions and projects.

AUGUST 2023 - NOVEMBER 2023

PROJECT SELECTION AND ELECTION

• Board approves selected scope and passes a resolution committing to move forward with a November 7, 2023 Referendum.

• Tuesday, November 7, 2023 - Bond Referendum Vote.

Please visit the online tax calculator at https://www.ehlers-inc.com/microsite/medford2023/ and scroll down to the Agricultural Property section.  Here you have the opportunity to directly input Parcel ID numbers (up to 10 by using the '+' button next to the County input). Our partners at Ehlers will be able to create a tax estimate that is specific to your parcels.  You can also call them directly at 1-800-552-1171 and ask to speak to a member of the Education Team.  They are very good about getting this information turned around and back to you for consideration.