• Implementation Year: 2026–2027
• No changes will take place during the 2025–2026 school year, this year will be used to plan

The Eagle Creek building houses Summit Charter School, serving over 1,400 students and generating $2 million+ in funding annually. This funding goes to serving Estacada's students. The committee recommended maintaining this structure as-is.

• Reduces overcrowding across the district
• Aligns schools by grade level instead of geographic boundaries
• Provides focused learning environments for smaller age groups
• Maximizes use of existing buildings without new construction

• Families were surveyed earlier this year - 91% supported planning for change
• A committee of parents and community members reviewed data and options
• Their recommendation was presented to the school board for consideration

This will help reduce immediate overcrowding and ensure that each of our existing buildings' capacity use is maximized. Student population projections predict that all schools will be over capacity by the year 2030. 

We are committed to:

• Providing frequent updates
• Listening to your concerns and questions
• Creating and sharing thoughtful transition plans

The current overcrowding at River Mill Elementary will soon mean that students will have reduced music and PE time due to scheduling conflicts. Students will be housed in portable classrooms. Bathroom, cafeteria, and gym spaces are becoming crowded and overused. Supervision and emergency response becomes more difficult.

The district will utilize the close distance between all schools to intentionally provide mentorship opportunities for older grade levels to visit younger students. This allows students to still benefit from their peers, while allowing each school to focus on providing a more age-appropriate learning environment. 

The average cost to build an elementary school in Oregon exceeds $60 million. This type of construction is not possible within the district's annual budget. Because the district is funded by the state per student, the district does not receive more tax dollars when new residents move in to the community. The state uses a set funding formula, and the overall “pie” of funding doesn’t grow when a community grows. Instead, the state just reduces the size of the slice it contributes, assuming that local property taxes will cover a greater share. As a result, even with more students and families moving in, the district doesn’t actually receive more total funding to build new schools.