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Some of Portland’s out-of-date school buildings may be one step closer to being replaced.

Earlier this week, Portland Public Schools‘ Board of Education decided on which bond option it prefers to put on a ballot next November. The choice — 聽a $482 million option that would include replacing three high schools 鈥� Franklin, Grant and Roosevelt 鈥� and one K-8 school 鈥揊aubion 鈥� over an eight-year period.

The selected option would cost $66 million less than a bond to replace eight schools that PPS floated last year. Voters rejected that proposal by a slim margin.

With a reduced cost and a narrower scope, the聽 new bond could have a better chance of hitting the mark with voters, according to board member Trudy Sargent.

鈥淲e’re very aware that we’re in recovery from the recession, but people are still feeling pain from the economy,鈥� Sargent said. 鈥淲e don’t want to ask too much, but we feel that’s still affordable for families.鈥�

The new bond, which covers an eight-year period, comes with a tax rate of $1.10 for every $1,000 of assessed property value. For a homeowner with a $200,000 house, that would work out to $220 per year.

Before the board officially approves the bond for placement on the November election ballot, it will be the topic of two more public hearings on June 28 and July 9. A final adoption vote by the board is expected to take place following the second hearing.

The board’s selection of the new bond option comes after weeks of meetings conducted by an advisory committee made up of school officials, parents, architects and students. Originally, the committee proposed four options to the board that involved replacing two high schools and two elementary schools (in addition to Faubion). However, the board rejected those plans and asked the committee to remove the elementary schools to make room for a third high school.

鈥淗igh Schools came to the top as a place to start,鈥� Sargent said. 鈥淚t felt like if we were only doing two high schools and had nine of them in inventory, then that wouldn’t be a very significant start. We wanted to see if we could keep the price tag still much lower than the previous bond, but also show a really big commitment.鈥�

The board’s selected option also devotes $20 million less to facility improvements 鈥� items like sinks, outlets and new computers — than the committee’s original proposals. Many of those improvements can be covered with other forms of funding, Sargent said.

Additionally, the chosen option devotes $71 million toward seismic and roof upgrades, which is $9 million more than the original proposal.

Monique McClean, head of PPS’ Parent-Teacher Association and a member of the group Underfunded Parents, Students and Educators Together (UPSET), has high hopes that the new bond will succeed. She thinks the creation of the committee and the board’s involvement with the public will make a difference in the new option’s chance to be approved by voters.

鈥�(Last year) there was maybe some mistrust in how things have been done at the district level,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his time, the district is trying to reach out more and communicate more, and I think people have a little more trust toward what’s going on.鈥�

One of McClean’s sons recently graduated from Grant High School, and a younger son is planning on going there this fall. She said the school building is badly in need of repair and is inaccessible for many of her disabled family members when they visit for school events.

Like Sargent, McClean thinks the bond will have a better chance of passing because of its lower cost to taxpayers, when compared with the previous bond. 聽A slowly improving economy may also make voters more receptive, she said.

However, not everyone 聽is in favor of the new option’s details. The price to replace the three schools is still too high, according to Don McIntire, president of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon, a group that openly opposed last year’s bond.

In McIntire’s opinion, the decreasing number of students attending Portland public schools and the increasing efficiency of technology means school buildings don’t need to be as big and costly anymore.

鈥淚 know some people close to the school system are going to make a lot of bucks putting those schools up,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey’ve let (the schools) go to hell. And now they’re punishing the taxpayers by insisting they need brand new edifices.鈥�

McIntire says he is a proponent of the concept of reform before rebuilding. He thinks the board should focus on improving classroom sizes and graduation rates before undertaking any construction projects.

McClean believes it’s not about choosing one side or the other.

鈥淲e as Portlanders have to make an investment in our school buildings and also what is going on in the buildings,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 do think it’s an either-or proposition. I think we definitely need to look at both.鈥�