By Teresa Carson, The Gresham Outlook (Read full article on The Outlook's site.)
June 29, 2017
Eight new or largely remodeled schools on their way in Reynolds and Gresham-Barlow School districts.
A construction worker jabs a 90-pound jackhammer into the concrete floor in what used to be the health room of Reynolds High School. A gaggle of workers grab up the slabs of concrete weighing hundreds of pounds and sling them onto a hand truck for removal.
This labor is a tiny part of the $416.2 million school building boom fueled by bonds voters approved for the Reynolds and Gresham-Barlow School Districts. More than 8,000 kids attend the eight local schools that will be completely replaced or substantially remodeled, and two dozen more will be improved. Voters gave a thumbs up to a $125 million bond for Reynolds School District in May 2015 and a $291.2 million bond for the Gresham-Barlow School District in November 2016.