Rainier schools look to pass a $49M bond Tuesday to repair old buildings

Facility Director Boyd Brown shows the water damage, which causes mold growth indoors, on the rooftops of the cafeteria and auditorium on Friday, May 12, in Rainier. The proposed bond would help with updating the buildings, boiler and sewer system.

RAINIER — It may seem like a large price tag, but Rainier School District officials say a proposed $49 million bond can save some of its aging buildings.

The estimated tax rate for the capital projects bond would cost homeowners $2.60 per $1,000 of assessed property value. For a $400,000 property, this would add up to about $87 per month.

If passed during Tuesday's special Columbia County election, the bond would be the first voter-approved school tax since 1978.

Superintendent Joseph Hattrick in March told the Rainier City Council the bond is necessary to build a new elementary school, fix up buildings that are decades old and install security vestibules.

Other concerns include a lack of available space, Hattrick said.

Ninety elementary students have to learn in mobile classrooms, "isolating them from their peers," Hattrick said. More than 100 middle school students are learning in the high school. Some rooms have three teachers and three separate classes.

4-day school weeks (4dsw) have become a growing trend deployed by school districts in order to combat teacher shortages.

Boyd Brown, the district's facilities director, said small issues have added up in the 45 years since voters passed a bond that built the entire 260-acre campus.

The roof system is failing, he said. Pipes are old and prone to constant breakage, there's no air conditioning, the boiler is four decades old and mold has started to seep into several rooms after a rainy winter.

"We’re trying to (fix) old equipment with new technology," Brown said. "Everything is just aged out."

One example is the galvanized pipe that literally rusted apart in the water drainage tunnels under the schools, Brown said. Another pipe recently blew a gasket in the cafeteria, spraying water and costing about $30,000 in damage. Then there's the cost of finding parts for equipment that was replaced long ago by more modern technology, he said.

Facility Director Boyd Brown shows off a galvanized water pipe from the cafeteria that rusted and broke apart from age. The pipe and most parts of the school buildings were last updated in the 70s.

Two dozen programs are housed across the 12 available portable buildings, the district said in a bond information pamphlet. Some special education classes are in the portables, while other special education students learn in the high school.

Elementary students are split up, and they have to travel around campus to go to lunch, recess, the bathroom or administrative offices.

It doesn't sound like a lot to ask of students, but Brown said kids are constantly on the move. It can cause some safety concerns, he said.

"If passed, the bond would solve most of these issues with the building of a new elementary school," Hattrick said.

The new elementary school would house all grades from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade and will have its own cafeteria, kitchen and gymnasium.

Christina Hendricks, vice president of the Rainier School Board, said she has a granddaughter in the fifth grade who currently learns out of one of the portable classrooms.

"She really doesn't like it, because there's no bathroom, so she has to come all the way inside to use the one in the gym," Hendricks said. "That takes away from classroom time."

Hendricks said many people may wince at the proposed tax hike or say the district misused the funds it has already received.

"I don't think people know exactly what we’re dealing with," Hendricks said.

Under the current process of getting state funds, money for construction projects usually fall far down the list of priorities, Brown said. That means the Rainier School District is working within the bounds of what it can afford.

Brown said he understands why people don't want higher taxes, especially amid unprecedented inflation and rising house prices. But the bond is the only way to give the campus needed renovations.

"It's not inexpensive," Brown said. "The only real solution is to have new funds coming in."

Wear and tear can be seen at the high school's main office entrance on Friday. Facility Director Boyd Brown mentioned that door frames and the single-panel window frames are starting to give out as well.

Sydney Brown is a news reporter for The Daily News covering education and environmental issues in Cowlitz County.

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Sydney Brown started at The Daily News in March 2022 covering education and environmental issues in Cowlitz County. She has a degree in multimedia journalism from Washington State University's Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.

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