Everyone seems to have an opinion about whether the Redmond School District should put high school students in temporary classrooms to repair Redmond High School, or merge Redmond and Ridgeview high schools.

Lines on maps, personal preference, and legacies don’t change reality. Reality is asbestos removal, complete HVAC replacement, and expensive repairs. Experience also tells us that cost overruns and repairs taking much longer than a year to complete are likely.

We have examples of what happens to old school buildings that have outlived their usefulness. Taxpayers spent millions of dollars to convert a school to Redmond City Hall and there is still a crumbling old gym that will cost money to tear down. In Bend, the school district uses an old school as its district office.

Redmond is a growing community with expensive housing, pushing away young families. School enrollment is stagnant. Two high schools are at half capacity, one aging and needing major work and one that still has that “brand new school smell” to it.

The purpose of the public school system is to provide a well-rounded education for the children in our community, from K-12. That can be done at Ridgeview High School. Repurpose Redmond High School to meet the needs of the school district, the students, and the community. In 50 years, Ridgeview will be old and falling apart, and we will have this debate again. For now, what choice is best for the students of today and tomorrow? It sits just south of town.

Jason Herring

Redmond

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