Frequently Asked Questions About the Proposed 2026 Bond

What is a school bond?
A school bond is a general obligation bond, which is a property tax applied to the assessed value (AV) of all properties within the school district boundaries. Bonds are used by a public school district to finance school facility construction or other capital improvement projects. A bond rate is a tax rate expressed in dollars per $1,000 of Assessed Value (AV).

School districts must seek voter approval for authorization to issue general obligation bonds. Measures are placed on the ballot along with information about the specific projects that would be completed by the district, if approved by the voting public. 

Why do school districts ask voters for bonds?
The State of Oregon does not provide regular funding to school districts for school construction, building improvements, and preservation of facilities. School districts in Oregon typically use general obligation bonds to finance major capital expenses. The State does provide a matching grant to school districts if a local bond is approved.

What is the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching (OSCIM) Grant?
The State of Oregon provides matching grants to school districts that pass a local general obligation bond. The goal of the OSCIM program is to encourage local communities to invest in their district’s public schools. AWSD is eligible for a $4,980,000 matching grant for the May 2026 election, if voters approve the bond measure.

What can bond funds be used for?
By law, general obligation bond funds can only be used for the capital projects outlined in the ballot explanatory statement. Bond funds cannot be used for items such as PERS, salaries, or other employee expenses, nor can they be used for routine maintenance or supplies.

What is the difference between my property’s Assessed Value (AV) and (Real Market Value)?
Real Market Value (RMV) is the amount that a property could reasonably expect to sell for as of January 1 of each year. 

Assessed Value (AV) is the value of the property subject to taxation. It cannot exceed the RMV. A bond rate is a tax rate expressed in dollars per $1,000 of Assessed Value (AV). Redfin, Zillow, or real estate professionals focus on market value. For many properties in Oregon, real market value is higher than the assessed value on the property tax statement. You can look up your property’s Assessed Value (AV) by reviewing your tax statement or through the search function at the Umatilla County Assessor’s Office webpage.

How is the Assessed Value (AV) of farm properties determined?

Farm and forestland properties have varied zoning and use. Depending on the zoning and use, active farm or forestland may have a special assessed value. Because individual situations and properties are different, we highly encourage you to look up the Assessed Value of your farm or forestland property via the Umatilla County Assessor’s Office webpage.

What were AWSD’s past bond requests to the community?

In 2006, voters approved a $2 million bond with a 10-year term. It funded the following projects:

• Athena Elementary: New boiler and water heater, lighting upgrade, porches.

• Weston Middle School: Heating and electrical upgrades, Gym lighting upgrade.

• Weston-McEwen High School: science lab remodel, add modular, roof replacement, siding replacement, lighting upgrade in Gym, landscaping, heating and electrical upgrades

In 2016, voters approved a $4 million bond with a 10-year term. The State of Oregon provided a matching grant of $4 million, for a total project budget of $8 million. This bond is ending with final tax payments in 2025. It funded the following projects:

• Athena Elementary: safety and security upgrades, roof replacement, window replacement, air conditioning and HVAC controls, fire alarm, new interior paint and carpet, LED lighting, ADA parking, and a walk-in freezer.

• Weston Middle School: safety and security upgrades, main office remodel, roof replacement on maintenance shop and modulars, fire alarm, new interior paint, HVAC controls, new steam boiler in Upper Gym, bus and lower campus drop-off area, wheelchair lift, ADA parking, and various concrete projects.

• Weston-McEwen High School: air conditioning in Gym, safety and security upgrades, roof replacement on Gym and modulars, remodel band room, replace greenhouse and improve drainage, new tennis courts, new interior paint, restroom remodels, HVAC controls, ADA parking, add restrooms in Gym lobby, remodel girls locker room.

In November 2025, AWSD proposed a $15,220,000 bond with $10,210,000 matching grant to reconfigure grade levels, construct a Main Gym and Career Technical Education building on the Athena Campus, minor improvements to AES, remodel WMHS classrooms, minor improvements and ADA upgrades to WMS, and a new gravel parking lot and drop-off/pick-up traffic flow improvements at WMS. This bond was not approved by voters.

Has AWSD explored grant funding for building improvements?
The State of Oregon provides matching grants to school districts that pass a local general obligation bond. AWSD is eligible for a $4,980,000 matching grant for the May 2026 election, if voters approve the bond measure. The OSCIM grant would cover 50% of the total proposed project. 

In addition, AWSD has utilized grant funding from Business Oregon toward seismic upgrades. In 2021, AWSD received $639,000 in grant funding to seismically upgrade the Upper Gym at Weston Middle School.  Smaller grants have provided funding for facilities enhancement. Some recent examples include the new pig barn at the land lab, pickleball courts at Weston, and track lighting at the elementary school.

What level of design has been completed for the proposed projects?
Preliminary concepts were created in 2025 to inform the Community Bond Advisory Committee's recommendations and bond project budget. If the community approves the bond measure, AWSD will hire architects and engineers to refine those preliminary concepts. This will include community outreach and input on the design.

What is the breakdown of the proposed $9,960,000 budget?
The Career, Trades, Sciences and Technical Education Center has a budget of $9,960,000, including construction costs, site work, development costs, and contingency.

If the bond is approved, AWSD is currently eligible for a $4,980,000 matching grant from the State of Oregon. The Grant and bond proceeds would each fund half of the total project cost of $9,960,000.

What are the limitations of the current career, trades, science, and arts spaces?
Students in career, trades, science, and arts programs at Weston McEwen High School use outdated spaces.

• Science labs lack modern lab stations, instructional space, and safety features such as updated eyewash stations. The low ceilings and the availability of only a single fume hood limit experiments. The agricultural classroom lacks lab stations.

• The art room is crowded and has no dedicated space for ceramics, material storage, or display of student work.

• The shop building, originally constructed in 1970, lacks air conditioning and mechanical ventilation and has an older dust collection system in failing condition. The original electrical system is end of life and has inadequate capacity to power current equipment or to expand equipment. Students are limited by lack of work stations and material storage capacity.

How would a Career, Trades, Sciences and Technical Education Center expand student opportunities?

The proposed Center is approximately 12,000 square feet and would allow for expansion of current learning space. It would include energy-efficient HVAC, windows, and insulation, and be built to modern ADA accessibility standards. The Center is expected to include: 

• Modern science labs that include instructional space, current safety features and additional fume hoods for experiments

• Modern art studio with dedicated ceramics workspace, supplies and material storage, and display space for student work

• Wood and metal shop with adequate electrical capacity, modern dust collection system, materials storage, air conditioning, and updated mechanical ventilation

• Multipurpose classroom, including lab space for agricultural science

• Additional parking

How does this bond address ADA issues?
The new Career, Trades, Sciences and Technical Education Center would be fully compliant with current ADA standards.

Where would the new Career and Technical Education building and Main Gym be located?
AWSD owns the field property to the north of Athena Elementary and adjacent to Weston-McEwen High School. The new Center would likely be located on this property. Site specifics will be determined during the design phase if the proposed bond is approved.

Why do the bond materials say "estimated tax rate"?
The amount the district is borrowing ($4.98 million), the state grant match ($4.98 million), and the bond term (10 years) are all fixed. They won't change. But property values are reassessed every year, and when property values change, the tax rate can also change slightly (just like it did during the term of the 2016 district bond).

The law requires the district to use the word "estimated" to account for that normal, year-to-year movement.

Since the proposed bond does not increase my taxes, how is that achieved?
AWSD’s existing school bond, approved in 2016, had a current bond tax rate of $1.24 per $1,000 of assessed value from the most recent 2025-2026 fiscal year. The existing school bond will end this year. The proposed new bond would not overlap with the existing school bond and is estimated to maintain the current bond tax rate, with no tax increase.

Why is AWSD proposing a school bond now?

Athena-Weston voters existing school bond, approved in 2016, is ending this year. In anticipation of the current bond ending, AWSD applied for grants from the State of Oregon to conduct a third-party Facilities Assessment and Long Range Facility Planning for all the District’s buildings. This assessment showed that the District’s aging buildings have deficiencies, especially at Weston and the High School, the district’s oldest buildings.

Will the proposed bond overlap with the 2016 bond?
The bonds will not overlap. The last year of tax payments for the 2016 bond will be in 2025. If voters approve the proposed bond in the May 2026 election, tax payments on the new bond will begin in 2026.

How many years will the proposed bond take to pay off?
The proposed bond would be repaid within 10 years of issuance.

How does AWSD’s bond tax rate compare to our neighbors?
As of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, residents within the AWSD boundary pay $1.24 per $1,000 assessed value toward a school bond. The current bond is ending with final tax payments in 2025. The proposed bond is estimated to maintain the current bond property tax rate, with no increase.

As of 2025, neighboring communities pay the following approximate amounts per $1,000 assessed value toward their school bonds:

• Pendleton SD: $2.03/$1,000 assessed value

• Milton-Freewater SD: $1.01/$1,000 assessed value

• Hermiston SD: $3.03/$1,000 assessed value

• Ione SD: $3.77/$1,000 assessed value

• Pilot Rock SD: $2.60/$1,000 assessed value

• Echo SD: $2.35/$1,000 assessed value

• Umatilla SD: $1.89/$1,000 assessed value

• Elgin SD: No school bond

How was our community involved in planning a school bond?
The District formed a Community Bond Advisory Committee (CBAC) of 20 volunteer community members. The committee met from September 2024 through July 2025, with a follow-up meeting in January 2026.

The CBAC was charged to create and recommend to the Superintendent a potential bond package that could be submitted to voters. As part of their work, the CBAC reviewed facilities needs identified in the District’s Facilities Assessment; considered options for financing a potential bond, including amount of bond and length of payback period; developed a timeline and long-term plan for addressing capital improvement projects relating to facilities needs; and considered community feedback in creating the recommendation.

CBAC Members were: Cheyenne Bailey, Jerry Baker, Angelina Erb, Nate Fuller, Kati Funderburk, Kenzie Hansell, Luke Hansell, Emily Hansell, Klaus Hoehna, Bob Irvine, Alaina Mildenberger, Kris Miller, Casey Perkins, Dana Perkins, Brian Pickard, Jake Rhodes, Adam Schmidtgall, Ethan Wallis, Tristan Weseman, and Chad Wunsch.

How will I know what the proposed new building will look like?
If the community approves the bond, the district will then hire an architect to lead the design process.

Will there be community oversight to ensure bond funds are spent properly?
Yes. If the bond is approved by voters, the District will form a citizen Bond Oversight Committee to oversee the use of bond funds and report regularly to the community. In addition, bond expenditures will be reviewed in regular, independent audits.

Will the community have opportunity to provide design input?
Yes! If the community approves the bond, the district will then hire an architect to lead the design process. The design process will include engagement and participation from community, staff, and students.