Estacada School District

Addressing aging school facilities

The average Estacada School District building is over 60 years old, and they are beginning to show their age. Plumbing and electrical systems are in need of updates, roofs require repair, and classrooms are becoming too small for their growing student population. Some buildings would benefit from improved fire suppression systems, and upgrades to ensure full ADA accessibility. Many classrooms lack modern air conditioning, making it challenging to maintain a comfortable learning environment.

To make necessary upgrades and address overcrowding, the District decided to run a school bond campaign. But before they made any promises to taxpayers, they needed to know how much they could accomplish if the measure was approved within their communities bonding capacity.

  • Location: Estacada, OR

    Size: varies

    Cost: $149M

    Duration: 1 month

    Estimated Completion: August 2023

  • Client: Estacada School District

    Architect: TBD

    GC: TBD

  • Construction Pre-Planning

    Cost Estimating

    Scenario Planning

District Priorities

The District had a lot of projects on their wish list—so they’d have to be strategic about how to maximize the community’s investment. The District engaged the Klosh Group team for preliminary cost estimating services to leverage our deep expertise in educational facility construction management, scoping, pre-planning and budgeting. We worked together to identify the District’s biggest priorities, which fell into three different categories: Improve Safety & Security, Address Overcrowding, and Update Aging Schools.

From there, it was all about exploring what could be achieved with the district’s estimated $149 million budget. We conducted extensive scope work and created cost estimates for every desired project on the district’s list. Then we built over 20 different packages of options to help district stakeholders decide which projects should go in the bond—and what should be left out.

Using our insights and cost data, they landed on the following:

  • Build a new high school ($114 million)

  • Renovate and repurpose the old high school as a new junior high school ($8 million)

  • Transform Estacada Middle School into a third elementary school ($1 million)

  • Improve student safety and complete essential repairs ($12 million)

  • Install climate control and air conditioning at all schools ($4 million)

  • Create all-season athletic and extracurricular fields ($10 million)

Honest and defensible numbers

Taxpayers want to know that if they put their money behind a school bond, they’ll get what they paid for. Our detailed scope work allows our client to show that they’ve done their due diligence and helps assure voters that the bond is worthy of their support.

When the bond goes to a future vote, it will be supported by reliable data and transparent, defensible numbers that consider risks like inflation and cost escalation over the next five years. The benefits of our work extend far beyond the vote itself. If the bond passes, our thorough pre-planning will give the construction team a strong head start, ultimately paving the way for an improved educational experience in Estacada, Oregon.