Committee recommends $104 million bond for Hermiston schools

Tri-City school districts aren’t the only ones needing bonds to keep up with their booming student enrollments.

A committee has recommended the Hermiston School District pursue a $104 million bond to replace aging infrastructure and accommodate growing student population, a release said.

The proposal would pay to replace two elementary schools and build a new elementary school, expand Hermiston High School to hold up to 2,000 students and make upgrades to Sandstone Middle School.

The Citizen’s Review Committee made the recommendation during a recent presentation to the school board. Its list of projects was a whittled-down version of a larger $131 million in capital project needs identified.

The state said the district, which enrolled 5,500 students this fall, is one of the fastest growing in the state with a growth rate of more than 3.5 percent, above the state average of less than 1 percent.

Community sentiment on the bond recommendation will be gauged by the district over the coming months before the school board considers whether to place a bond measure on a future ballot.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Committee recommends $104 million bond for Hermiston schools."