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Longview school district taking new approach for 2019 bond measure

By Marissa Heffernan, The Daily News
Published: August 18, 2019, 8:04pm

LONGVIEW — In the 2017 general elections, Longview Public School district’s bond measure failed to pass by a few hundred votes. This time, Longview School Board member Phil Jurmu said the district is doing things differently, and he thinks that will help the $119 million bond measure succeed.

“We wanted to listen to why rather than assume why there wasn’t broader support for the bond issue,” Jurmu said. “In my discussions with people, it felt to me that people are supportive of the school but it wasn’t clear exactly how that money was going to be used and if it was going to be used most effectively.”

Jurmu is the board representative on the facilities advisory committee, a group of school district employees, community members and other stakeholders that advises the school board on bond matters. He said there was a lot of discussion about how to better share information with the community and how to make sure the bond measure on the Nov. 5 ballot represented more peoples’ visions for the district.

“We made a conscious decision to include more groups so the bond measure touches every student and every special interest group,” Jurmu said.

The committee found that many people felt athletics were an important part of education, so the new bond proposal includes the renovation to the Memorial Stadium complex, Jurmu said.

The bond would also pay to completely rebuild Mint Valley Elementary and Northlake Elementary schools; repair electrical and plumbing issues; update heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; update vocational and technical education classrooms; and update security at all schools.

The bond will cost $176 per year for the average homeowner of a $200,000 home.

To pass, the bond measure needs to get a supermajority of 60% voter approval.

Two years ago, 58% of voters approved the $121.6 million bond measure, which was the most expensive bond proposal in the district’s history. At the time, community members raised concerns about the price tag.

In preparation for the 2019 bond measure, the school district also held more than a dozen discussions, online forums and a third-party phone survey, said Rick Parrish, spokesman for Longview Public Schools.

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“It’s important to the district and the board that the elements of the bond reflect community values and what the community wants,” Parrish said.

According to the results of the February phone survey, of the 234 people surveyed, 70% supported a school district capital bond. The top areas those surveyed wanted addressed were facility repairs and updates, improved security and expanded vocational and technical programs.

Parrish said those results lined up with the top areas people mentioned in both the face-to-face and online forums.

Responses indicated the community wanted schools to be safer, Jurmu said. As a result, the bond would include a district-wide security notification system, updated lighting and cameras, new fencing and more secure entrances, with “walled-in” glass vestibules and two sets of locked doors visitors would have to be buzzed through after being screened.

“We didn’t do a very good job educating people about what safety and security meant (in 2017) and we’ve learned from that,” Jurmu said.

The district created a brochure to share that information, which Jurmu said has received a positive response. The brochure breaks down what the bond’s priorities are, how much each priority area will cost and where the projects will take place. (See breakout box.)

“It better articulates what the $119 million price tag will do for Longview schools,” Jurmu said.

The brochure is available online and at booths at community festivals, according to Jurmu. This year, Jurmu said the committee will also be sure to submit a “pro” statement for the bond measure into the local voter’s pamphlet, something that did not happen in 2017.

“We made some errors in our last campaign, where we did all the work for a pro statement for the voter’s (pamphlet) but somehow along the line it was never submitted to the elections office,” Jurmu said.

He said he understands why a voter might be “put off” by the lack of a pro statement, as it could come off as a lack of interest on the committee’s part. However, he said that’s not the case.

“I feel strongly that the need is there, so I’m going to continue to advocate (for the bond) as chair of the advocacy group and school board member,” Jurmu said.

Ballots for the general election will be mailed out on Oct. 18.

While advertising for the 2019 bond measure has not yet started in earnest, Jurmu said there are groups that said they would help with the grassroots advertising campaign. He expects official endorsements to start coming out soon.

“We were pretty close last time,” Jurmu said. “It gave me the confidence that we were on the right track. We listened well and were able to say, ‘I agree, we did not communicate about people’s concerns.’ “

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