Stories of the Salem-Keizer School District Bond Program
The Project: At a Glance
Navigating an Unpredictable, Unprecedented Timeline
From a global pandemic with labor shortages and supply chain issues to natural disasters, the Salem-Keizer bond program overcame a variety of challenges. A strong program management system put in place by the team ensured projects–that spanned every building in the district–remained on track, doing everything that was promised in the bond and then some.
In all, improvements from the bond would touch every building in the district.
Joel Smallwood, Director of Facilities – Salem Keizer School District
“We learned a lot from each other… and that combination of knowledge under a one-team mindset is how we reached this final outcome.”
Building a Broad Team with Focused Goals
At its height, the Salem-Keizer School District (SKSD) bond program involved more than 30 project management staff across sites. To maintain cohesive goals and consistent progress, a fully integrated team was essential to its success.
On one side was the district staff, led by Joel Smallwood, with a deep connection to both the schools and their surrounding communities. Their perspective brought extensive knowledge of established district procedures and local needs. And on the other side, Otak’s 22 staff at their peak, under the guidance of Bob Collins, provided an in-depth understanding of school bond project delivery.
With leadership working together under the same roof, an environment was created that was dedicated to an overarching goal: successfully and efficiently fulfilling bond promises to the community.
A Total Transformation with Community Buy In
Among the largest projects in the SKSD bond program was a complete transformation of South Salem High School.
In addition to the enhanced systems implemented across all schools, South Salem High also featured comprehensive seismic upgrades as well as a rebuilt Rose Theater. With a 900-seat capacity, that facility also gained community buy-in by implementing plans to honor the historic building it replaced.
Leslie Middle School, which long served its community, would become the site for the new Rose Theater. Extensive community outreach led to a plan that cleared the way for the district’s future while remembering its past. Materials recovered from the original structure were used both in the construction of the new theater as well as in creation of a permanent display that memorialized its place in the community.
Setting a High Standard for Career Development across High Schools
Set in a landscape of rolling hillsides, the West Salem High School property was separated by changes in its elevation. This included a disconnect between the classroom used for a first responder career technical education (CTE) program on the lower property and the fire training tower on the upper property. The bond program connected these areas as well as adding a new 3-story wing, adding to an overarching increase in campus accessibility.
This is just one of many improvements to SKSD where a focus was placed on facilities for CTE programs. These programs prepare students to enter the workforce in a variety of areas, and in this case they’d not only have a choice in which path to choose but which choices were available.
Based on student input on career interests and what was previously present, the SKSD bond program created brand new or massively upgraded these facilities across each high school. No two schools would be the same, with programs ranging from automotive mechanics, woodworking, and fire rescue to culinary arts, sports medicine, and broadcast journalism.
Students in CTE Program
Stefanie Stonebrink, Manager, Construction Services – Salem Keizer School District
“As an employee and community member, it was important to me that the bond commitments remain valuable for years to come.“
An Unexpected Assignment in Historic Preservation
With expertise of the land that extends long before the beginning of development, Tribal consultation is an essential piece to completing many projects today. This process also helps protect the history of Native Americans when unexpected items are uncovered, as was the case during the SKSD bond program.
At several sites, during work on the SKSD bond program, it was discovered that there could be Native American artifacts present. The team established strong collaboration with regional tribes to make sure their interests were honored and respected.
For more than a year, a team of archeologists were routinely on site to observe and document what was found.
Creative Approaches to Sustainable Design
As all new public buildings are, projects in the SKSD bond program needed to meet a 1.5% green energy requirement. Often the simplest way to satisfy this is adding solar capabilities on the roof, however this can create the potential for future leaks. To avoid this, the team had another idea.
Among the district’s plans were new covered play structures. So, solar panels were installed atop those to supplement renewable energy while leaving the school’s roof fully uncompromised. This approach was just one piece to the sustainability puzzle. At the Yoshikai site, a large ground installation of solar panels would provide 100% of electrical capacity for the facility.
Sustainability features–from solar to efficiencies in HVAC, appliances, and lighting–were together more than just an investment in the future but also resulted in present funding. Through a variety of energy efficiency rebates and Trust of Oregon incentives, the team was able to secure approximately $5.7 of additional dollars to support the district’s goals.
Bob Collins, Owner’s Representative – Otak
“It’s unusual in this industry to be there from the very first day to one of the very last… the transparency between our teams allowed that to happen.”
Setting the Table for Elementary School Enhancements
With more than 40 elementary schools across the school district, several still did not have full cafeterias. The bond program would change that.
In addition to adding cafeterias across the elementary schools, the SKSD bond program also removed many portable classrooms, replacing them with permanent spaces inside the building, giving kids direct access.
Among the elementary school improvements were also those made to student drop off and pick up lanes. The design aimed to reduce congestion, enhance access, and add additional parking.
Expanded Scope through Efficient Management
The SKSD bond program, like most of its kind, began with a long list of hopeful improvements. Also like most, once the bond amount was approved, that list was narrowed to create a scope that would fit within that budget. But sometimes a bond team can find ways to expand that work, without extra cost to the public.
Through grants, reimbursements, interest, and other avenues, the SKSD program scope was able to grow. This allowed the district to go back to their original list of hopeful improvements and make more priorities a reality.
The expanded scope included improvements to roofs, building exterior seal, HVAC upgrades, security vestibules, and fire alarm systems among others. Even with all these features considered, perhaps where the team is most proud its efficiency made an impact was the fact that this work was completed to allow kids back in school, on time.
