Who Paid For Your Elementary School?

Who Paid For Your Elementary School?

For most people that went to elementary school in Silverton, the quick answer is simple -probably not you.

The last local bond that was passed to construct an elementary school in this town was in 1969. That was to build Robert Frost Elementary and came with a price tag of $1.3 million. So if you were paying taxes in 1970 (i.e. born in 1952 or earlier) you helped do your part to pay for that one. Thank you for that.

Eugene Field Elementary was built in the 1920s. I have no clue as to how school construction projects were funded prior to the Great Depression but I’m willing to bet there aren’t many people around that helped pay for that particular project.

So if you are at least 98 years old, you’re off the hook – you’ve done your part in funding the local elementary schools. I wouldn’t blame you if you felt it was our turn. You would be right – it is our turn.

In fact, we’ve had opportunities to take our turn:

·         1984 - $3.3 million bond to construct a new elementary school. Failed.

·         1990 - $5.53 million bond to construct a new elementary school. Failed.

·         1998 - $19.3 million bond to complete Phase II of SHS, allowing transfer of students out of Eugene Field Elementary. Failed.

·         2002 - $31.25 million bond to complete Phase II of SHS, allowing transfer of students out of Eugene Field Elementary. Failed.

·         2013 - $36.9 million bond to convert Schlador Street campus to a middle school allowing the transfer of students out of Eugene Field Elementary. Failed.

No matter where you grew up (I went to school in La Grande, OR), somebody else paid for your school. You likely did not. It may have been your parents or grandparents. Maybe even your great-grandparents. These buildings are not meant to last forever. They need to be re-built and building new schools costs money. It doesn’t seem right to have the opportunity to go to a school that we didn’t have to pay for and then expect to not pay for the children coming up behind us. Something about that seems, dare I say it, un-American.

A bond is now certainly coming down the pipeline on the upcoming November ballot. Our response doesn’t get to be ‘No thanks. We’re good.’ It’s our turn. We have the responsibility to step up and spend the money on a new elementary school. For our children and their children. Our children’s grandchildren can be on the hook for the next one. 

Written by Silverton Community Member, Andy Diacetis

New Website!

Welcome to the Promise for Eugene Field Website. Please feel free to explore the site, look at the different pages, and leave appropriate comments.  We appreciate everyone's input and dedication to our students, as they are the most important thing in our lives.

The primary focus and function of this website will be to inform the public about decisions made regarding the closure of Eugene Field School, and the future of Eugene Field students.  All the newest information regarding board decisions, past and future events related to the advocacy for Eugene Field, and any other information deemed important by the community.

Thanks for checking us out, and please continue checking in for the latest updates, and be sure to check out the Facebook page:  A Promise for Eugene Field