2026 Bond FAQ

A bond measure is like a home mortgage with principal and interest to be paid off over a set period of time. The State of Oregon does not provide funding to school districts for school construction, building improvements and preservation of facilities. School districts in Oregon use bonds to finance these capital expenses and large maintenance projects.

No. The Oregon Department of Education does not provide funding for school construction or major renovation. It does, however, provide the dollars that we utilize to deliver instruction to students and conduct daily operations.

Oregon’s school funding model is somewhat unique. The legislature allocates dollars each year for teaching and learning, but construction of new schools and the modernization and preservation of existing schools is the responsibility of the local community. 

Oregon is one of the few states in the nation that does not provide direct funding support for building schools or major capital renovations. School districts are expected to finance these projects with general obligation bonds (construction bonds) authorized by the district’s local voters.

The proposed bond is estimated to cost property owners approximately $1.84 per $1,000 of taxable assessed value (AV), which is different from real market value (RMV) - or what you might expect to sell your house for to a prospective buyer. 

A property’s assessed value is the value used for determining the property owner’s tax liability.

This amount ($1.84/$1,000 AV) is less than the tax rate that was asked for with the last HSD bond in 2017 ($2.24/$1,000 AV), and is roughly the average of what taxpayers in the District have paid over the last 3 years.

When we went out for our last bond in 2017, we shared that we would be asking voters to support our next bond in 2026. This is because we knew there would be a drop in tax rates after the property tax collection in October/November 2026 due to repayments of other outstanding bonds, which would provide an opportunity to raise new funds for needed maintenance and infrastructure projects while keeping tax rates consistent. 

The average age of a school in the Hillsboro School District is roughly 44 years and some are over 70 years old. Although we’ve worked hard to preserve our community’s assets, we have aging buildings. Over time, educational programs and utilization within facilities change. Additionally, safety and security infrastructure, as well as basic systems like electrical, heating, and plumbing require maintenance, replacement, or enhancements to meet current needs.

When we went out for our last bond in 2017, we shared that we would be asking voters to support our next bond in 2026. This is because we knew there would be a drop in tax rates after the property tax collection in October/November 2026 due to repayments of other outstanding bonds, which would provide an opportunity to raise new funds for needed maintenance and infrastructure projects while keeping tax rates consistent. 

The average age of a school in the Hillsboro School District is roughly 44 years and some are over 70 years old. Although we’ve worked hard to preserve our community’s assets, we have aging buildings. Over time, educational programs and utilization within facilities change. Additionally, safety and security infrastructure, as well as basic systems like electrical, heating, and plumbing require maintenance, replacement, or enhancements to meet current needs.

No. The district will continue to maintain school properties but a majority of the proposed projects will not occur.

No.  All funds raised by the bond will go toward projects in Hillsboro School District and they can only be spent on project categories approved by voters. Note that if more funds become available, the District may use them to complete additional projects that are in alignment with the scope identified in the ballot language.

Improved schools and facilities can positively impact home values, encourage people to stay and invest in the local area, and supply the local economy with skilled workers. They are a community asset and provide spaces for community use. Additionally, good schools can improve community pride, connections, and a sense of belonging. Schools that are safe and secure help deter crime and keep communities safer as a whole.

A community with good schools can positively affect home values, area pride, community safety, and business attractiveness, while helping shape the future workforce. Students can go on to be skilled workers and engaged citizens that contribute to the local economy and community in various ways.

School facilities provide community organizations gathering spaces for sporting activities and various events. Our schools have been rented on many occasions for major events that bring in visitors to our community, who spend money at our local restaurants, hotels, and businesses.

We are engaging in a data- and stakeholder-experience and engagement-driven process to develop a responsive bond proposal for the community to support our schools. More specifically, we use data aligned to our education programs, enrollment, long range facilities plan, overall strategic plan, and work orders, as well as detailed feedback and prioritization from key stakeholders that highlight areas of need. Inevitably, this process highlights a large list of projects.

We brought together a diverse bond development committee of district and community stakeholders to review the data and help formulate potential packages for consideration. This group of roughly 50 stakeholders came together for a series of meetings over several months to formulate potential packages for consideration.

While this was underway, the taxing capacity was shared with us by outside counsel. This entailed analyzing all assessed value within the district’s attendance area and calculating the approximate tax rate per $1,000 of property owners’ assessed value that would be needed to repay the amount of the bond (e.g. in 2017, HSD asked voters to support a $408 million bond estimated to cost them $2.24/$1,000 of assessed value; in 2026, HSD is considering asking voters to support a $430 million bond that is estimated to cost $1.84/$1,000 of assessed value).

We are now presenting these potential packages to a broader group of stakeholders for feedback and will use that input, alongside polling results, to formulate a single package and list of reserve projects to present for approval by the school board. Once the school board approves the package, the potential bond will be set for a vote in the November 2026 election.

Yes, the ODE assessment results can be found HERE.

Projects and needs have been thoroughly vetted by various stakeholders over multiple iterations. Considerations such as lifecycles of equipment/facilities, education program needs and development alongside enrollment data and the district strategic plan, repair vs. replacement costs, safety, structural integrity, longevity, ability for rebates and/or potential grant support, along with what was included and not included in the previous bond are all considered in prioritizing potential projects. Functional leads with the district used factors such as what was shared above to determine a priority level of 1-4 with 4 being the highest/most urgent priority for each potential project.

Each project identified was estimated by contractors and quotes were received. These costs included labor and materials for the scope of work in current year dollars. Appropriate escalations (e.g., contingency costs and inflation) and owner development costs (e.g., permits, project management, design, etc.) were then applied to the project to calculate the actual full costs anticipated for the projects based on their scope and when the work is projected to occur over the lifespan of the potential bond.

Should there be any extra funds available, the district will complete any reserve projects that were determined to be a priority for consideration throughout the bond development process.

Yes - the Bond Development Committee continues to be open to feedback from individuals on what to consider. There are a series of scheduled virtual Q&A sessions for each feeder pattern at the end of February and early March 2026 to gather any additional feedback, as well as to answer questions.

Given the areas of need and the district’s strategic plan, potential projects for a 2026 bond fell into the following key categories or scopes of work (listed below in no particular order):

• Buildings and Systems
• Safety and Security
• Technology
• Career & College Pathways
• Extracurriculars
• Other Needed Projects:
  • District Printshop
  • Transportation
  • Nutrition Services
  • Safety and Facilities Vehicle Fleets

The turf field improvements currently scoped within the proposed bond will support this need.

This work would include upgrading playground surfaces from wood chips to rubber tiles, key equipment replacement/upgrades (i.e., slides), other hardware replacements, and general play structure enhancements or replacements to improve accessibility, inclusivity, safety, and longevity.

Given the data and resources available to meet current and projected needs within the District, there are no new schools and minimal facilities construction projects within this potential bond. There are some new structures (e.g. diesel service tech bay, playgrounds, structure to support our Fire Science program) within this bond, but no entirely new facilities or schools.

Yes - you can find school-specific information aligned to the potential bond at these links: English, Spanish. Please note that these school-specific flyers do not yet contain information about the technology that will be added at each school (e.g., student and staff devices, audio/visual equipment, infrastructure, etc.).

We currently have quite a bit of property in South Hillsboro and the adjacent area for future schools. We do plan to build on them in the future, but not in this potential bond. Projected enrollment and current capacity at existing schools do not support the development of new schools at this time.

Keep in mind that there is just one middle school per feeder, whereas each feeder group has 6-7 elementary schools. So the amount per building at most elementary schools is less than that at middle schools. Our three older middle schools - Evergreen, Poynter, and R.A. Brown - received significant investments in the 2017 bond: $25.1M, $19.6M, and $9.4M, respectively. South Meadows is still relatively new at 17 years old, and therefore doesn’t need quite as much work; although, some roofing improvements are included under Proposal A.

Our high schools are much larger structures and have significantly more programming, facilities, and systems to maintain. On average, HSD elementary schools sit on 10 acres each, middle schools 20 acres, and high schools 40 acres. So in addition to a more expansive built environment, high school sites are where a majority of our extracurricular facilities are located - turf fields, baseball and softball fields, tracks, tennis courts, etc.

Project identification for the proposals relied upon several pieces of information, including the current state of facilities and grounds and the projected needs of each facility over the course of the next five-plus years.

This is in response to an idea brought forth by our City partners to consider the expansion of community access to pool space either at the Shute Park Aquatic Center or Hidden Creek Community Center.

At this time, there are no property purchases included within the potential bond portfolio. The land bank the district currently has is sufficient to meet existing and projected needs.

The district has not yet made this determination. More information will be provided regarding the procurement process once it is determined and made available.