A new site for new times...

Thu, 03/20/2008 - 10:54am — dlower

As most of you know, Vernonia School District suffered a devastating flood on December 3, 2007. The purpose and focus of this site is to communicate with the greater Vernonia community and visitors to this site, the future direction of Vernonia Schools.

vernoniaschools.org also provides its patrons the opportunity to make online financial contributions to the school district to assist with the future development of its physical plant. (Look for "Donations" in the header menu of this page). Contributions can be made online via PayPal or directly via US Bank.

Photo Gallery | In the News | Recovery Model? | Rebuilding Vernonia (video)

 

Vernonia senior trip

Vernonia Search Results (Oregonian)
Most Recent Story on Vernonia: 4-28-08 Our Town (Recovery Model?)

Vernonia needs an Oregon Solution

Fri, 05/09/2008 - 9:37am — dlower

To rebuild schools at a higher level, the city badly needs a higher level of help from the feds

Sunday. March 09, 2008, The Oregonian 

Nobody died. Look on the bright side. That's what people in Vernonia keep reminding themselves in the wake of December's devastating flood, the city's second in 11 years.

Or, as the signs framed, sampler-style, behind Vernonia school Superintendent Ken Cox's desk remind him "Be thankful for what you have". . ., because,  "There are no shortcuts to anyplace you're going."

Cox (pictured right, on tour of flood damaged Vernonia HS with Governor Kulongoski and others) is thankful for the generosity of Oregonians and for Vernonia's resilience, but he also knows his school district has got to find a shortcut, and fast.  It's urgently in need of state and federal assistance to relocate its elementary, middle and high schools to higher ground.  What he has right now is a hollowed-out high school, a devastated gym and other damaged buildings; demoralized students, many occupying a fleet of portables; and distracted parents, dealing with flood damage in their own homes.

Already, enrollment has dipped by 8 percent as families flee or move elsewhere to bunk in "temporarily" with relatives.  Some may return, but few will have reason to if the schools aren't rebuilt.  Although repairs are theoretically possible, it would be foolish to invest much in repairing buildings in a flood plain in a twice-flooded town almost certain to flood again. 

Fortunately, sites at higher ground are available. But the cost of rebuilding the schools is daunting, estimated at $40 million. The state would have to help by cutting through red tape and coming up with a portion of the money. Vernonia voters certainly would have to help, too, by approving a bond measure as a kind of local match.

An emergency federal appropriation also would be critical. This is a real test of leadership for Sens. Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, along with Rep David Wu. They all need to come through for Vernonia.

As in many smaller Oregon communities, the schools are synonymous with the town, not only the largest employer, but also the only place for the community to gather in the event of a disaster. All the more reason to relocate the schools before, God forbid, another flood.

The best thing that could happen this week would be for Gov. Ted Kulongoski to select Vernonia schools as a project for Oregon Solutions. The Portland State University program brings local, state and federal government officials, foundations and the private sector together to collaborate on problems. In Vernonia's case, the problems are so overwhelming that it's hard to know where to begin. But Cox has the right idea:  

Begin with what this community is most grateful for and can't live without-- Its schools.

©2008 The Oregonian

 

Another way to contribute

Mon, 04/21/2008 - 12:51pm — dlower

Besides the PayPal function explained in the article below, a donation fund for Vernonia School District Flood Recovery has been set up with US Bank.  Donations can be made at any US Bank location:  Vernonia School District Flood Recovery Fund.

Donations to the Vernonia Flood Recovery Fund

Tue, 04/15/2008 - 7:38pm — dlower

You can donate to the Vernonia Flood Recovery Fund (via PayPal) by clicking on the following button and following the directions.

Before clicking on the "Donate" button below read the following two steps.

  1. When you get to PayPal select the "Send Money" tab;
  2. You will be asked to direct your payment to an email address, please copy and paste dplews@vernonia.k12.or.us for that purpose.

Thank you for your contribution to Vernonia School District.




Rebuilding Vernonia from Oregonian News on Vimeo.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are trying to utilize this function on a School District 47J computer, PayPal is blocked on most computers, and your STAFF OVERIDE may not work.

Vernonia School District | Questions & Answers | April 8, 2008

Wed, 04/09/2008 - 6:53am — dlower

The following questions have been compiled to provide information for district staff and patrons.  If you have additional questions please send them to ken.cox@vernonia.k12.or.us 
     
 
How can we contact board members and the district?Board members value your input and all of their names are listed in the phone directory.  If you would like to email the board you can do so by sending an email to board@vernonia.k12.or.us which will reach each board member’s personal email.  You can also contact Dr. Cox at ken.cox@vernonia.k12.or.us or call at 503-429-5891. 
 
Insurance What flood insurance does the district have?The Vernonia District has $4.6 million in primary flood insurance with the National Flood Insurance Program and secondary flood insurance with Special Districts Association of Oregon (SDAO).  SDAO has a $5 million annual limit on their coverage. 
 
How much has been spent on repairs so far? To date we have spent approximately $2.4 million on drying down our buildings and repair costs.  This does not include the new modular installation and lease costs.
 
Can the mods be insured? Yes the mods are covered by insurance, including flood insurance for next year. 
 
Can we get flood insurance next year?After July the district will only be able to get flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, whose limits are $500,000 structural and $500,000 contents per building.  We have been informed by SDAO that our flood insurance premiums, for next year only, would be $500,000, which is not an option. 
What about FEMA?We have been working closely with FEMA to make sure that we get reimbursed from them for anything that is not covered by our insurance.     
 
Current Situation  What does it cost to rent the Mods? The 26 modular classrooms and bathrooms cost $14,000 per month.  This expense is currently being paid by our insurance.  This cost will be incurred by the district for next school year.
 
Is there a way to get drinking water out in the mods for students and what would the cost be?We are checking into this.  This had been discussed and addressed (we thought).  It will be addressed soon.
 
Why are 2 schools being displaced (VMS and VHS) instead of just keeping the middle school students where they were instead of out in the mods?The middle school needs eight classrooms.  They had six classrooms in the building and two in the mod behind the building.  Because the mods behind VMS are unavailable there is not enough room in the VMS building to house all VMS students without them having to travel back and forth between the new mods and VMS.  After conversations with the administration and staff we chose to configure the schools in the current manner.  This way only high school and a few middle school students have to move between buildings throughout the day. 
 
Can the middle school be flood proofed – if so what is the cost and who pays what?Because the middle school is built on a concrete slab it would be very expensive to raise the building to prevent it from flooding again.  There has been some discussion however about putting a 5 foot wall around the building to prevent flood water from entering.  This would need to be engineered to meet both FEMA and City requirements and would be fairly close to the building to alleviate as much water displacement as possible.  We will be getting a cost estimate which would be financed by FEMA paying for 75% and the district having to pay the balance. 
 
What is happening with the old middle school and high school mods?  Can they be replaced?These buildings were not dried out and the current plan is to demolish them.  If we chose to replace them with new mods they would have to be raised at least five feet higher and the current foundations would probably not be sufficient for that height.  
 
Why is the high school still sitting there with no work done?We are waiting to determine if there are any significant funds available from FEMA to move the school to a new location. 
 
What would it cost to repair the high school?We have rough estimates that indicate that it could cost $2 million or more to complete all repairs and the necessary code updates to re-occupy the building.  
 
What would it cost to just repair the gym?We are still looking into this cost, however we would have to repair more than just the gym to meet fire and life safety codes.
 
Can the HS be raised structurally?  What would the cost be and who pays?We have an estimate of more than $1 million to raise the high school five feet.  However, with the new city ordinance we would probably have to raise it even higher.  Because the school is over 50 years old, we are not sure it could be raised without incurring additional damage. 
 
Where is the school district getting money for the capital fund project manager position?We are currently looking for someone to help coordinate the district’s efforts to seek funding outside the community.  These funds will come from the district’s budgeted contingency fund. 
 
New Schools If you can't find a reasonably good location, why not rebuild schools in the current location, but that are raised up above future floodwaters, like so many houses in town will be? Although both the board and the administration have indicated our desire to move the schools out of the flood zone, we will consider all options that are presented to us.  However, we are not sure at this time whether insurance would be available.  If it were, it would most likely be higher than current rates. 
 
When will the district buy some property and move the schools?We are in the process of identifying adequate sites.  We would begin negotiations once a site is identified.  We would not be able to begin construction until all zoning, environmental studies, and funding were arranged which most likely would take up to a year.  Architects estimate anywhere from 2 to 4 years to construct all schools. 
 
Isn't there someone who is going to donate land for new schools or will it need to be purchased?We have not as yet had anyone make an offer to donate property to the district.  The district will be looking into the cost of each of the different sites we consider. 
 
Have you considered trading land with the city and using Spencer Park?Spencer park is not a large enough piece of property to hold all our schools.  We do hope to work closely with the city in determining which site would be best for the future of our community. 
 
What are the specifics as to what will determine the final location to be chosen?  Site criteria were discussed as part of the Vernonia 2020 Vision process that has recently taken place in the community.  The final criteria have not as yet been finalized.
 
What time frame are we looking at before a decision is/has to be made?  We will be moving forward as fast as we can without jeopardizing any funding options.  We want to move quickly, but we also recognize that these schools will have to serve the community for many decades.  A few extra months now, to ensure we have the best plans, location, etc. will pay off in the long run. 
 
Where will the district get the money for new schools?We are seeking governmental funding at both the state and federal level.  We will also be seeking foundation and private funding.  We will most likely have to ask district patrons for some portion of the funding through a bond levy election. 
 
Have there been any decisions made as far as going with a “green” school or another option?  The district is interested in making our new schools as green as possible within the funding that we receive.

           

New plan is an option worth considering

Thu, 03/20/2008 - 12:11pm — dlower

There could be a silver lining in the rain clouds that were the impetus for the flood devastation which hit our community in early December.  That silver lining could be new schools for School District 47J.  A new campus concept is under consideration for our schools (shown above).  For a larger view of the above image and for an overhead view of the proposal check the two attachments below.

Please make every effort to attend Vernonia 2020 Meetings.

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