Dear WLWV Parent/Guardians,

As parents prepare for enrollment decisions this Fall, West Linn-Wilsonville School District wants to alert families of the discontinuation of the “choice zone” areas starting Fall 2025, in an effort to improve bus route efficiency (on time), associated costs, and reduce fuel emissions in our neighborhoods.

District Phases Out Choice Zone Areas, Fall 2025

The current district “choice zones” allows some families to choose between two schools and receive bus transportation for either choice. This results in the district often sending 2-3 buses into the same neighborhoods causing redundancy, congestion, and associated costs for additional buses and drivers. Upon the opening of the new primary school located in the Frog Pond development area of Wilsonville in Fall 2025, the District will discontinue the “choice zone” boundary areas for school attendance. 

Starting in Fall 2025, students residing in their primary school boundaries will be assigned middle schools and high schools, unless they receive an approved In-District Transfer Request to attend a different school. The WLWV school district is generous with its In-District Transfer Requests as long as there is space and capacity available at the requested school. Bus transportation, however, would only be available within the residing and assigned school area.

WLWV School Attendance: Starting in Fall 2025
Primary School Boundary	Assigned Middle School	Assigned High School
Boones Ferry PS Lowrie PS	Inza Wood MS	Wilsonville High School or Riverside High School
Boeckman Creek PS New PS at Frog Pond	Meridian Creek MS
Cedaroak Park PS Trillium Creek PS Sunset PS	Rosemont Ridge MS	West Linn High School or Riverside High School
Bolton PS Willamette PS Stafford PS	Athey Creek MS
Note: Parents may request an In-District Transfer to any other school outside their primary school boundary or secondary school assignment depending on school capacity. Transportation is not included with transfers.

Adjustment in Fall 2025 Improves Bus Route Efficiency, Costs & Eco-Responsibility

By discontinuing the “choice zone” areas, the District will be able to significantly improve bus route efficiency, budget management, and ecological responsibility. 

Sincerely,

Kathy Ludwig, Superintendent

The Long Range Planning Committee held a quarterly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at West Linn High School. The Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC), which also serves as the district’s Bond Oversight Committee, reviewed the 2019 Capital Bond Quarter Three Report and continued ongoing conversations about district-wide properties. 

The Quarter Three report showed the 2019 Capital Bond Program forecasted over/under was reduced by more than 4$ million during the past quarter. Bond Manager Remo Douglas shared that the construction industry continues to experience challenges stemming from material procurement, labor shortage, supply chain issues, increasing fuel costs, and rising labor and material costs. The district is continuing with its cost management work, however, and is encouraged by recent trends.

As of the Quarter Three Report, the District had committed more than 77 percent of current funding, with a total of $105.5 million spent thus far. The bond program is on track to fulfill state requirements for spending 85 percent of funds within 36 months of receipt, with the sale of remaining bonds on track for December 2022. 

WLWV staff provided progress updates on the 2019 Capital Bond’s major projects, all of which are on schedule. In particular, LRPC members reviewed the district’s new Athey Creek Middle School project and Wilsonville High School Performing Arts Center. The Wilsonville High Performing Arts Center is on track to open in January, while the exterior walls of the new middle school are going up in early November. 

LRPC members also toured the recently-completed West Linn High School stadium and parking lot project, which has been enjoyed by students and community members during the fall athletic season. The Long Range Planning Committee will next convene on January 18, 2023. To review the Q3 Report, please visit the district website. 

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West Linn-Wilsonville School District NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

August 12, 2022

CONTACT: Andrew Kilstrom, Director of Communications; kilstroa@wlwv.k12.or.us

West Linn-Wilsonville School District Receives Clean
2020-21 Financial Audit

The audit company, Pauly, Rogers & Co., presented the completed 2020-21 audit during the August 11 School Board Work Session. 

The completed audit reported no issues or exceptions in any of the audit findings, giving the district a “clean” opinion without reservations. Pauly, Rogers & Co. conducted their audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. 

“I can share that your staff were highly cooperative and knowledgeable about their duties and accounting standards,” said Senior Partner Roy Rogers in a written statement to the West Linn-Wilsonville Business Office. “The audit went smoothly with no particular issues. As you might know we audit more School Districts than any firm in the state so we have a very good lens of comparison with other Districts. You can rest assured that your staff were competent in completing their duties. … Congratulations to you all.”

The West Linn-Wilsonville School District hired Pauly, Rogers & Co. to complete an audit for fiscal year 2020-21 in April after terminating its existing contract with TKW Accounting due to long delays and uncertainty regarding completion.

The favorable results of this audit are consistent with every annual audit conducted of the school district’s finances and financial practices. In February of 2022, the West Linn-Wilsonville School District was awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020. The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting is awarded by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada and is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting. 

The recorded presentation by Pauly Rogers & Co to the School Board as well as the summary of results of the 2020-21 audit can be accessed through the Board Meeting district webpage. 

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On Thursday, June 9, Wilsonville High School Senior Jair Gamez-Carrasco walked across the graduation stage to receive his high school diploma. He celebrated with friends, family, and the rest of the Class of 2022 — an opportunity that wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the life-saving measures of West Linn-Wilsonville staff and a Wilsonville Police Department School Resource Officer (SRO) just a few days prior.

On May 31, during an outdoor wellness class, Jair collapsed unexpectedly and began experiencing cardiac arrest. Immediately, West Linn-Wilsonville staff and SRO Officer Zach Keirsey jumped into action.

West Linn-Wilsonville Maintenance Member Lance Entzel, Wilsonville High School Teacher Laura Beko, and Nurse Mary Groh began administering CPR before SRO Zach Keirsey arrived to take over. Assistant Principal Tate Olson and Sergeant Matt Swanson were on scene just moments later with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to restore Jair’s heartbeat. All Emergency Response Team (ERT) trained, the group of staff members and law enforcement traded off administering life-saving measures while paramedics and other first responders arrived on site.

Jair was transported to a local hospital where he received immediate treatment, eventually undergoing surgery to receive a pacemaker. Jair remained in the hospital for multiple days before getting the all clear to return home. On June 8, just days after his traumatic experience, he returned to school to finish his high school career.

“I want to share with other families just how important it is for the schools to have people that are trained and have access to defibrillators for these situations,” said Jair’s mother, Maria Gamez. “The cardiologists were impressed with how fast the school and police officers acted because there was no time. From their experience, if it would have happened even 3 minutes later, he could have had brain damage or could have died.

 “They went above and beyond to save my son’s life. It was amazing and we’re just so grateful for everyone that responded.”

Now a Class of 2022 graduate, Jair has plans to attend trade school to become an electrician.

“I can already notice a difference in him,” Maria said. “It’s almost like he has a new outlook on life.”

Both West Linn-Wilsonville staff and Wilsonville Police Officers are ERT trained in CPR and the use of AED. District staff and local first responders meet regularly to partner on school safety topics and initiatives. To learn more about emergency preparedness and response, community members are encouraged to visit the West Linn-Wilsonville and Clackamas County Sherriff’s Office websites.

The City of Wilsonville contracts with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office to provide law enforcement services to the city.

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The West Linn-Wilsonville School Board held a public meeting on February 9, 2022 to receive critical updates regarding the District’s Purchase and Sale Agreement with the City of West Linn for the Oppenlander Property (1275 Rosemont Road, West Linn, OR 97068; 10.08 acres). District staff provided an overall update and corrected several inaccuracies that have been made in recent public meetings.

Current Situation

The West Linn-Wilsonville School District [District] received an appraisal of the Oppenlander Property at “fair market value” of $6.5 million in April 2021. In connection with the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA), the City of West Linn [City] ordered an update to the appraisal that was also to be conducted at “fair market value.” In January 2022, the City received an appraisal of the Oppenlander Property at $120,000 based on “park value”. The District rejected the appraisal of $120,000 because the January 2022 appraisal does not reflect the fair market value of the property.

Why Did the District Agree to Designate the Property as a Park in the PSA?

The District requested that the Oppenlander Property be designated as a park because the District believed the citizens of West Linn would be interested in maintaining the property for park use that residents have enjoyed for decades.The specific reference in the PSA of the City Charter Chapter XI, Section 46, was requested by City staff and the District was agreeable.  

Statements that the District operated in error or made a mistake simply are not true. The District’s intent — and by the District’s understanding — the City’s intent was not to use the park restriction to arrive at a purchase price that does not reflect the fair market value of what would be prime developable real estate. All conversations and agreements between the City and District leading up to the appraisal used “fair market value.” Fair market value is written into the PSA as the appraisal methodology. Additionally, the City referenced the “fair market value” concept with respect to the property in various conversations, agreements, the Letter of Intent, PSA and even in a survey with the citizens of West Linn.

Could a second appraisal have been conducted?

Yes. When both parties received the January 2022 appraisal of $120,000, City staff and District staff immediately discussed the need to have the appraisal value corrected to reflect conversations, understandings and agreements between the two parties that used a fair market value methodology. An expedited review and second appraisal was possible at that time and the District was willing to pay the extra cost of a second appraisal. The District later learned that the City was no longer interested in conducting a second appraisal.   

Has a vastly reduced “park value use” or “school value use” been applied in past property sales?

No. In all past property transactions between the City of West Linn and the District, property has been valued at “fair market value” rather than applying a massive discount based on the prospective use of the property. Even when the District intended to only use property as a school, there was no insistence that the value of property be reduced to reflect that purpose.  Likewise, when the City has purchased property from the District in the past there was no insistence that the value of the property be reduced to reflect the intended purpose.  

When the District has purchased property from the City, private citizens, churches or other entities, “fair market value” has always been applied regardless of the intended or limited use of the property for the District. 

• In 2011, the City sold a portion of Sunset Park to the District for fair market value which at that time was $301,000/acre.  Neither party used “school use only” to justify reducing the value of the property.  
• In 2011, the District sold property on Parker Road to the City of West Linn for “fair market value” of $301,000/acre.  Neither party used “park use only” to justify reducing the value of the property.
• In 2021, the District purchased two homes from New Life Church with the agreement to convert the lots into parking lots for the District and Church to use.  The transaction used “fair market value” and not a reduced “parking lot value”.  

There has been a long-standing, historically-proven course of dealing between the City and the District to apply “fair market value” without discounts based on particular use in past property transactions.

Could the City sell the Oppenlander Property in the future to a developer?

Yes. The West Linn City Charter Chapter XI allows the city to remove the park designation at any time with the approval of the voters. This is precisely how the City sold a portion of Sunset Park in 2011 to the District at fair market value; the voters approved a change in designation of the property. After a change in designation, the City could sell the Oppenlander property at any time for a substantial financial profit. 

Could the City and District dissolve the PSA if there is no agreement?

Yes. If both parties mutually agree to dissolve the PSA, that can be done. Both parties can also modify the agreement by mutual consent. Failure to reach a resolution on the matter could result in parties entering litigation. Both parties are highly confident that they would “win” if this were to go to court. But the District also understands that the City, District and community at large would “lose'' if litigation resulted due to a failure by the parties to pursue a solution in good faith.

Board considered two remaining options

At this time, the District is still willing to move forward in good faith with the City of West Linn and avoid any costly legal process that would not serve the community or citizens well. The District has offered a number of options (e.g. a second appraisal) to the City, but the options are narrowing. 

District staff presented two remaining options to the School Board at a February 9 special meeting.

1. Option A is to formally offer the City Council an amendment to the PSA that removes the designation of the property as a city park.  If Council agrees to open the PSA to this modification, the purchase price could be established by the R.P. Herman appraisal performed in April 2021 that places the appraised value of the property at $6,500,000.  This amount has been used in all discussions between both parties and the community in conversations and public outreach.  The District would rely on the West Linn community to determine the present and future use of this property.
   
   
2. Option B would be to delay the ballot measure until November, 2022. This option would allow the City and the District to continue to negotiate modifications of this agreement without the impending timeline of a May ballot.

The School Board voted and approved a resolution selecting Option A as their desired path forward, offering to modify the existing PSA to remove the designation of the property as a city park. 

The modification can only occur if both parties mutually agree. The District has sent the signed resolution to City staff to present to City Council for their consideration. The District remains hopeful for an agreeable path forward that continues to honor an established pattern of good faith dealings between the City and District. 

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February is Black History Month, giving West Linn-Wilsonville students and the entire nation the opportunity to reflect on Black History in America. Black Student Union students from Wilsonville and West Linn High Schools created a slideshow highlighting historical black figures who inspire them. Students across all district schools and grade levels will spend time during the month of February learning about black history, which is also American history.

Interested community members are encouraged to review the Black Student Union's historical slideshow.

On Aug. 16, the WLWV School Board voted to add a specific Staff Professional Development Day prior to the start of school. The focus of the day will be on Care, Connection and Community as we prepare to welcome students back to fully in-person learning this fall.

The additional staff development day will take place on Tuesday, September 7 which means that the first day of school will now be Wednesday, September 8. 

How will this additional staff development day benefit students?
Establishing care and connection, especially early on in the school year, will be critical to the success of our students. We know that students are returning to the classroom with a range of emotions and experiences from last school year. We continue to hear how the impact of isolation during Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) affected many students’ social-emotional well-being, peer relationships and overall mental health.  

We also know that students are returning to the classroom from a range of learning environments last year. Some students joined us last year in the Hybrid Model, coming every other day, while many others learned at home with full-time CDL or in the Online Program. Some may have temporarily attended a different school or been homeschooled. 

This extra day of planning and preparation will allow staff to:

• Review social-emotional student survey data (Panorama) from last spring in order to implement strategic systems of care and connection right away;
• Plan social-emotional lessons designed to support students with transitions, peer relationships and sense of belonging (e.g. Second Steps, School Connect, Sources of Strength); 
• Plan community-building activities to reconnect students to one another, to staff and to their school community (e.g. Circle Forward, Equity by Design); and
• Provide time to integrate social-emotional routines, rituals, and structures specifically for the first week of school as well as throughout the school year that foster inclusive and equitable learning communities (e.g. 7 Components). 

The Oregon Department of Education has also provided school districts with resources on care and connection, urging educators to set aside time prior to and during the first week of school dedicated to addressing the mental health and social-emotional well-being of students.  

How does this additional day affect the school calendar?

• The first day of school for all schools and grade levels is now Wednesday, Sept. 8.
• The last day of school for all schools and grade levels is now June 20 in order to maintain the same number of instructional days for our students. As a reminder, the last day of school is subject to change in the event of inclement weather or other necessary calendar adjustments during the school year.
• Please note that these calendar changes do not apply to Three Rivers Charter School.

If families would like to read about other news and updates from last night’s School Board Meeting, they are encouraged to read the School Board Briefs Newsletter that is available now.

 

All West Linn-Wilsonville School District families are invited to the Family Empowerment Center’s 2021-22 School Year Kick-Off Event on Tuesday, Aug. 24 from 5-7 p.m. in the Boeckman Creek parking lot!

In addition to music, snacks, and opportunities to meet other families, students who attend the FEC School Year Kick-Off Event will get access to many different resources for the coming school year. Some of the resources and opportunities include:

• School supplies like backpacks and notebooks (supplies are limited)
• Access to school staff for help signing up for district systems such as ListServ, ParentVue, and more;
• Access to nutrition services staff for information about school meals and help signing up for free and reduced lunch
• Information about several school and community services such as food banks, local rotary clubs, and opportunities to volunteer with FEC and in the community

Stop by the Boeckman Creek Parking lot any time between 5-7 p.m. on Aug. 24. We can’t wait to get you connected to your school community! Learn more about the FEC by visiting the district website.

The West Linn-Wilsonville School District will host an information session for all students and families interested in the WLWV K12 Online Academy (WKOA) on Tuesday, June 29 at 7 p.m.

Staff will provide updates regarding WKOA for the 2021-22 school year and answer community questions. Meeting information can be accessed below or found on the district website. This meeting will be recorded.

Date: Tuesday, June 29, 7 p.m.

Meeting Link: https://wlwv-k12.zoom.us/j/96946610707?pwd=YUw2WFg2Z3VPN3poOGxiRStIUVJlUT09

Passcode: 257651

To join by phone, dial: +1 669 900 6833

Webinar ID: 969 4661 0707

Passcode: 257651

The West Linn-Wilsonville School Board met on June 3, 2021 in executive session to discuss the Board’s interest in revisiting a sale of the District-owned 10-acre Oppenlander property to the City of West Linn.

The meeting resulted in the School Board deciding to re-engage in conversations with the City with the primary focus of ensuring that any sale involving the City would be predicated on the property remaining a community park.  

While these conversations will continue to be held in executive session, outcomes will be made public.