Upgrading Eugene’s Old Schools

Eugene’s School District 4J has many school buildings that date to the post-war era of the 1940s and ’50s and some elementary schools have 40 doors to the outside, a security concern. Most of these cheaply built older schools would not stand in a major earthquake and some, like River Road Elementary, have such inadequate ventilation that teachers sometimes evacuate their students when air quality monitors warn of bad air.

Measure 20-210 on the May 21 ballot would authorize the district to sell $170 million in bonds to replace four old school buildings, renovate other buildings, improve technology and instructional materials, upgrade security, buy new buses and make other improvements. No organized opposition to the measure has appeared so far.

The estimated cost to the median homeowner (assessed value of $174,000) would be 24 cents per $1,000 in value or about $42 a year. The new total of bonded debt repayment would rise to $1.60 per $1,000 until 2017 when an earlier bond will be paid off. At that time, voters may see another bond measure on the ballot since school facility upgrading is a long-term process and four more schools, including North Eugene High School, are on the list for replacement or hands free access.

“The measure allows for smart repairs to some of the really older buildings in the district that will save money in the long run and allow more money to be spent in the classroom,” 4J School Board Chair Jennifer Geller says. “It will fund technology improvements in every school in the district.”

Geller says about 40 percent of computers in the district don’t run current software. The measure will also update instructional materials for every school: new math, new writing curricula and new science equipment at the secondary level. And it will improve school security with key card access and video surveillance.

Four of the “most dilapidated schools in the district” will be replaced, Geller says: Roosevelt and Jefferson middle schools and Howard and River Road elementary schools. The gymnasiums at Jefferson will be saved. Renovations are also planned for Gilham Elementary and Kelly Middle School. The architecturally and culturally significant 87-year-old brick Edison Elementary School will be saved for now, despite its problems. Roosevelt has a large site that will likely be rebuilt where the tennis courts are currently, rather than at the Civic Stadium site.

School bonding was restricted by the Oregon Constitution to be only for new construction, but in 2010 voters approved Measure 68, allowing capital bonding for renovations, repairs and other needs. Measure 5 and other tax-restricting laws have made it difficult for school districts to raise additional money for staffing and reducing class sizes. But bonding is not restricted like property taxes.

“This is one of the only ways we can get money into this district,” says Laura Illig, chair of the Yes for 4J Schools campaign. Bonding is “really significant for our district because we have some investments we need to make and there is no money in the general fund, things like science curriculum and equipment,” she says. “We’ve been putting off replacing buses and making general repairs, and without bond funding those things would come out of the general fund.”

No dollar amount has been calculated on what the district will save with this new investment in capital improvements, but Geller and Illig figure the savings will be significant over time. The new and remodeled buildings will be more energy efficient and general funds will not be needed to cover technology and curriculum updates, new buses and general repairs. And by not delaying construction projects, the district can take advantage of low bond interest rates and the currently lower costs for materials and labor.

The cashier handed a gentleman his credit card after he swiped his $8 total for two. As he and his friend take a seat, the customer behind him asks the cashier where she could scan her mobile rewards application. The cashier points to the glowing 10-inch tablet off to the side;  the customer aligns her smartphone to a colorful barcode on the tablet. Her $9 drink total for her and her kids magically changes to a $4.50 value.

At this point, the first customer is probably thinking his wallet is suddenly feeling tremendously lighter as he looks down at his iPhone 4s, heavy with regret. What did that customer just scan? How did she get such a terrific deal?

What may seem like another random mobile app was actually the solution behind a digital customer loyalty rewards system that has revolutionized the relationship between merchants and customers. These solutions are better known as startup mobile apps like Pirq and Bellycard.

Dividing the responsibility of customer frequency between the merchant and mobile startups makes for a win-win situation. While restaurant owners benefit from customer loyalty when users redeem 25% or 50% off their meals, mobile apps such as these conquer the future of digital reward systems. These reward programs are changing the way customers are interacting with their favorite retail and restaurant merchants by increasing business indoor positioning system and utilizing public deals.

What is unique about Bellycard is that they customize their rewards in fun and unique ways depending on the merchant. For example, “You can arm wrestle a sandwich restaurant owner or ride along in a food truck that will let its best customers “egg” the truck as it drives by” as stated by Leena Rao at Techcrunch.

Pirq and Bellycard differ from sites like Groupon and Living Social because they spend less time focusing on customer loyalty and more time on finding the best ‘bang-for-your-buck’.

“Groupon does mass-market push with their emails but they crush your business because tons of people come in during the same hours and only one cashier is there to manage it,” said Kaitlin Sandblom, Pirq’s Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator.

When asked what could be improved with customer loyalty apps, Christine Ngo, Pirq user and junior at the University of Washington, said that she wished they would implement push notifications.