Sipe

UMATILLA — Umatilla School District voters are passing a $45.2 million bond measure.

Measure 30-158 is passing 53.2% to 46.8%, according to Oregon Secretary of State unofficial election results Wednesday, Nov. 8, garnering 744 votes for to 654 against.

USD Superintendent Heidi Sipe was cautiously optimistic about the measure passing.

“We are in the midst of waiting 21 days and feverishly watching,” she said. “It depends on what ballots come in. We don’t want to assume too much, but it does appear as such.”

Passage of the measure would mean the district receives a $4 million matching grant from the state. The almost $50 million package would fund the construction of a new intermediate school building, which includes a full-sized gym, as well as updates to the career and technical education building.

The bond also covers renovations and improvements throughout the district.

The district is working with its bond counsellors, Sipe said.

“We want to get the (requests for proposals) out as rapidly as possible,” she said. “We hope for December or January. We can move rapidly thanks to our great experience with the 2016 bonds.”

The lack of new school building projects in the regions is a motivator for the district, Sipe said.

“We can be fairly cost-effective,” she said. “A lot of projects are just wrapping up, without many new ones. It depends on how many bids we get.”