09/17/2026
What does the proposed new rural K–8 school mean?
Pratum, Evergreen, and Central Howell have served generations of Silver Falls students. Today, all three are aging school facilities with significant facility needs, accessibility limitations, and building systems and learning spaces that were not designed to meet today’s standards.
The proposed bond would replace these three aging schools with one new K–8 school, similar in size to Butte Creek K-8.
The new school would:
✅ Preserve the rural K–8 model valued by families and communities
✅ Replace three aging facilities with significant needs with one new school designed for today’s students
✅ Provide a school that is accessible for all students, staff, families, and community members
✅ Provide modern classrooms, building systems, safety features, and learning spaces without the extensive facility needs of the existing schools
✅ Create a more sustainable operational model by serving students at a school size that allows staffing, programs, services, maintenance, utilities, and other resources to be used more efficiently
Operating very small schools presents increasing challenges. Staffing specialized programs, providing consistent student services, maintaining aging buildings, and operating multiple sites all require resources. School districts across Oregon and the country are confronting similar challenges and, in some communities, consolidating smaller schools to create more sustainable educational and operational models.
Silver Falls faces that same long-term challenge.
The proposal would bring students from Pratum, Evergreen, and Central Howell together in a new West-Side K–8 while maintaining a rural K–8 option on both sides of the District. Instead of continuing to invest limited resources across three aging facilities with substantial needs, the District would replace three schools with one new facility without those existing building deficiencies.
The new rural K–8 school would likely be located at either the Pratum or Central Howell site, with the District exploring design options that could allow the school to fit on an existing site, as well as whether any additional property may be needed.
It is a significant change for three communities with long histories and strong connections to their schools. The proposed approach is intended to preserve what we heard from the community matters, the rural K–8 experience, while creating a more accessible, sustainable, and updated school for future generations of Silver Falls students.
If the measure isn’t approved by voters, the proposed bond projects would not proceed as planned, and no new bond tax would be assessed.
To learn more about the proposed bond project, visit www.silverfallsschoolbond.org
Silver Falls School District Bond Ballot Measure 24-528 Proposed Projects Replace/Reconstruct SilvertonMiddle School New Rural K-8 School Address Prioritized Maintenance Needs Proposed Funding If approved, the measure would provide $87 million in local bond funds and $10.2 million from the OSCIM St...
