Since our last bond update in late October, significant progress continues to be made! Please visit the link below if you are interested in viewing our 2nd newsletter, that outlines some of that progress. Thank you to all of the staff and community members that have been involved so far. Go Falcons!

UPDATE #2 NEWSLETTER: CLICK HERE

Since the passage of our facilities bond in May, the district has been busy in preparation for work that will begin in the Spring of 2025. Below is a short list of activities that have occurred to date:

July: Prepared for sale of our bonds and completed the Moody’s rating process. The district received a stellar results and received a credit rating upgrade to Aa3. The district had previously been rated A1 by Moody’s.

August 8th: Sold our $16.115 million in voter approved bonds. The sale went well, with overall demand for bonds outstripping supply.

August 22nd: Closed on our bonds, and FRSD received the funds. Due to a combination of factors, including the fact that the bonds had nearly 4 orders for every maturity and the favorable Moddy’s rating, we were able to reduce the interest rates over the initial offering, and investors were willing to pay a premium price in order to receive the bonds. This resulted in the district receiving nearly $2 million in additional proceeds that can be used on projects in accordance with the voter-approved ballot title.

Late August: Professional Services were secured to be used throughout the bond. These were in the areas of Geotechnical Engineering (GRI), Site Surveying (AKS Engineering), Hazardous materials testing (PBS Environmental), Special Inspection & Testing (Earth Engineers) Systems Commissioning (Systems West and Sazan Group) and Building Envelope Design and Testing (PRC).

Early September: Design firms were selected for the 4 project areas: EHS Athletics Campus (Robertson Sherwood Architects), District-wide classroom and restroom upgrades (Rowell Brokaw Architects), Mechanical Systems Upgrades (Interface Engineering) and Site improvements for parking and drainage (KPFF Engineering).

September 24th: The first EHS Athletic Facility Planning Committee met. This group of 20+ community members, staff, and partners met with Robertson Sherwood Architects to take input prior to them beginning to design the facility.

September 26th: The first Bond Oversight Committee (BOC) was held. This group is a group of 5 community members charged with ensuring the district is meeting bond promises.

October 17th: The first VES planning Committee made up of parents and staff met with Rowell Browkaw Architects to take input prior to the design work for VES gym and restroom upgrades.

October 22nd: The first EHS planning committee made up of FRSD staff and community members met with Rowell Browkaw Architects to take input prior to the design work for the EHS Science room upgrades.

Timeline of projects. While their will be a variety of work over the coming years, the three primary bond promise projects we hope to have completed by the Fall of 2025 are the EHS Athletic Facility (breaking ground March 30th), the VES gym/restroom, and the EHS Science classrooms (both to begin as soon as school is out in June of 2025). The goal will be to have them complete and ready for the start of school in the Fall of 2025.

Future updates: The district will continue to provide updates as appropriate (every 1-2 months). In addition the district is working on a 2024 bond information page on our website that will contain a wide range of information in the months to come. The direct link to that page is here: https://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/archived-bond-info/

Community members, 

The district is excited to announce the successful passing of the FRSD Bond! It is a significant milestone for our community and a big thanks goes out to the community and staff members who worked hard to get the message out to voters.

By passing this bond, the community has demonstrated a commitment to providing students with the resources they need to thrive academically and personally. This support will enable us to make critical improvements to all four school buildings over the next three years.

On behalf of the staff, students, and school board, we would like to thank everyone who took the time to learn about the bond measure, engage in discussions, and ultimately cast their vote.  As we move forward we will keep the Fern Ridge community updated every step of the way. A dedicated page on our website to track all bond related information is currently being developed. The groundwork has already started including:

• Selecting our owner’s representative, R & C Management.
• Requests for Qualifications (RFQ) for upcoming professional service work have been sent.
• Design packages and timelines/calendars are being developed.
• A community bond oversight committee process is being created and reviewed.
• The Due Diligence and Rating Prep call is scheduled for July 9th. (This is a necessary step before selling the bonds).
• Our bond sale is scheduled for August 8th.
• All required OSCIM grant paperwork is being compiled and submitted (This is the free 6 million dollar grant the district applied for and received).

We look forward to sharing more information as we move forward. Once again, thank you for your support and belief in our schools. Together you have made a solid and lasting investment in the future of the community and students of Fern Ridge School District.

Following a multi-year process that included updating our Long Range Facility plan, conducting facility assessments, and multiple meetings with a group of community members, the District has finalized the project list for a bond that will be on the May 2024 ballot. If successful, the tax rate will not increase, it will stay at the historical average of $2.20/$1000 of assessed value. In addition, the District has applied for and received a state OSCIM grant that will allocate FRSD an additional 6M dollars (tax free), for use on additional projects to improve facilities for our students. Questions? Visit the bond Facebook page and website at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fernridgebond

Website: https://www.fernridgebond.com/

Elmira High School offers career and technical programs to all students in the following program areas:

Programs:

• Manufacturing Technology: Includes Intro to Welding, Welding II, Welding III, Welding IV, Independent Study, and Work Experience.
• Manufacturing Construction: Includes Intro to Carpentry, Carpentry II, Carpentry III, Carpentry IV, Independent Study, and Work Experience.
• Intro Film and Television
• Advanced Film and Television
• Intro to Motion Graphics
• Advanced to Motion Graphics

Elmira High School does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, age or disability.

Admission in the specific courses is determined by grade level, and in some cases, completion of prerequisite courses.  Lack of English language proficiency will not be a barrier to admission and participation in career and technical education programs. For more information about career and technical programs and admissions criteria, contact Rick Gardner, High School Principal at (541) 935-8200 ext. 2201 or Jon Guldager, career technical education coordinator at (541) 935-8200 ext. 2203.

The following people have been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination:

Title IX Coordinator:  Michelle Marshall

88834 Territorial Road, Elmira OR 97437

541-935-8222 Ext:  1220

mmarshall@fernridge.k12.or.us

Section 504 Coordinator:  Brian Brands

24936 Fir Grove Lane, Elmira Or 97437

541-935-8200 Ext 1301

bbrands@fernridge.k12.or.us

ADA Title II Coordinator:  Gary Carpenter

88834 Territorial Road, Elmira OR 97437

541-935-2253 Ext 1201

gcarpenter@fernridge.k12.or.us

In lieu of selecting just one employee for the month of August, we would like to thank ALL of our FRSD Summer Program! In just 4 short weeks, connections were made, fun was had, and learning continued for over 200 FRSD students! 

As we prepare to open our doors for the 22-23 school year, there are some important details we would like to share with families in regards to our food services plan for this year. Please see below for more information:

• The free meal program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic has ended.
• FRSD 22-23 Breakfast/Lunch pricing information can be found on our website

• You may qualify for free or reduced meals and can apply online https://www.ode.state.or.us/apps/f
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• The district is happy to announce that we will be able to continue with FREE BREAKFAST K-12 for the 22-23 school year for ALL STUDENTS. We will be using a portion of our ESSER III $ to fund this for the upcoming year.
• Please do not let the free breakfast component deter families from filling out the free/reduced meal application, as this is still very important!

The district is preparing to launch a new communication tool.  It is called Parent Square.  This tool is an easy-to-use communication tool that combines multiple communication streams into one easy-to-use app for families and staff.  More information regarding this tool can be accessed under the “PARENTS” tab on the District website, directly at this link: https://www.fernridge.k12.or.us/parentsquare/ . Tomorrow night, prior to the regularly scheduled board meeting at 6:30, Mrs. Marshall will be presenting a 30 minute virtual training (on zoom) regarding this new tool.  The meeting will be from 5:45-6:15 PM and can be accessed at the following link:  https://fernridge-k12-or-us.zoom.us/j/88212696504  

In addition, following a brief summer hiatus, the return of the community Q and A’s with Superintendent Carpenter will resume tomorrow at 5:30.  Typically these are 30 minutes long, however due to tomorrow’s Parent Square training, this will only go from 5:30-5:45.  The primary topic will the “visitor and volunteer” guidelines for the 22-23 school year.  You can use the same zoom link as above to access this Q and A.