Measure N Goal: New Classrooms for Park Side School

Bond measure, if passed, will be used to replace portable classrooms and provide more space for early childhood education

Hoop at Park Side for its Castle Program

“Our biggest priority is the need to replace old portables on the upper Park Side campus,” said Sara Gramm, the Superintendent of Sebastopol Union School District (SUSD), which includes Park Side Elementary (grades TK-4) and Brook Middle School (grades 5-8). “There’s a saying among school administrators that ‘there’s nothing so permanent as a portable classroom,’” said Gramm. The portables in use at Park Side are over 40 years old, well beyond their 25-year expected lifespan.

SUSD has put Measure N on the November ballot to raise funds to replace the portables with permanent classrooms. It is a $24 million general obligation bond, which is a property tax. The cost to tax payers is estimated to be $28 per $100,000 of assessed valuation per year over 25-30 years. The bond requires approval by 55% of the voters in the school district.

According to Gramm, another priority for new funding is “creating more of an early learning center with preschool, Transitional Kindergarten, Kindergarten & our before/after care program.” CASTLE is the name of the pre-school program that also serves students after school. Transitional Kindergarten (TK), which began fairly recently as part of universal pre-school movement, serves 4-year-old children, providing a transition between preschool and kindergarten. The addition of two TK classes creates demand for more classroom space.

“SUSD has experienced significant growth this year, and the Woodmark housing development hasn't even opened yet.,” said Gramm. “The growth is exciting but an additional reason we need to work on aging facilities.”

The school’s cramped kitchen also is in need of an upgrade. The kitchen was designed for a time when schools re-heated pre-packaged food at lunch. Now, the school staff not only prepare and cook food for students at lunch but they offer brunch as well. “We serve brunch and lunch to more than half of our students every single day at no cost to the families,” said Gramm.

Park Side Kitchen

The main building on the Park Side campus dates to 1935 and it is need of renovation. Schools must ask voters to support a bond to fund infrastructure improvements as well as new construction. “While the state pays a large share of the cost of educating our students,” said Deborah Drehmel, President, SUSD Board of Trustees, “communities are expected to fund facility improvements.”

Here’s a list of some of the improvements other than new classrooms that the bond will fund:

• Repairing or replacing leaky roofs

• Constructing/modernizing outdated classrooms, restrooms, and other facilities

• Replacing outdated heating, ventilation, and cooling systems

• Replacing deteriorating plumbing systems

There are no specific projects aimed at Brook Haven Middle School other than ongoing maintenance, explained Gramm.

“We’re asking the Sebastopol community to invest in new classrooms and facilities,” said Drehmel, emphasizing that the schools must also “meet the demands of recent legislation creating transitional kindergarten, which is an additional grade level.” She added: “With our increased enrollment and aging portables, this bond will ensure we create safe, modern spaces that foster early childhood education and offer all our students a stronger start." 

Voters in Sebastopol will have to consider Measure N, a property tax, along with the Measure U, a sales tax for the City of Sebastopol, in addition to other county-wide sales taxes on the November ballot.

The building on the right would be replaced if Measure N is passed