We are tremendously grateful for the support our community showed our students and staff with their overwhelming support of the construction bond measure on the May 16 ballot. Thank you to the communities of Bend, Sunriver and La Pine and surrounding areas for your commitment to students and public education.

We are humbled and inspired by your support.

Voters have our heartfelt appreciation as we begin to move forward with plans to build two new schools and complete more than 150 other maintenance and preservation projects throughout our district. The approval of this bond means we can continue to build schools and classrooms to accommodate our ever-expanding student enrollment. I believe the approval of this bond will ensure a better future for our students, our schools and our community.

Passage of a bond can happen only with great support and I want to take a moment to thank some of the many contributors.

Thank you to the many volunteers who helped lead the advocacy campaign and to co-chairs Michele Emery and Neil Bryant for their outstanding dedication and leadership. Thank you to the numerous civic leaders, business owners and citizens who endorsed the construction bond and provided outside support and advocacy. Thank you to our school board members for their leadership in supporting this facilities process.

As we move ahead with proposed projects, we will endeavor to honor the trust our community placed in us through the passage of this bond.

We will provide regular communication and updates about projects and invite those who are interested to learn more about at our 2017 Bond Webpage.

On behalf of our staff, I want to say we are proud to be part of this community and will continue to strive to make our schools the best in the state and a source of pride for local residents.

Best,

Shay Mikalson, Superintendent