North Clackamas
School District
Caring For Our District Infrastructure
With nearly 17,000 students, did you know the North Clackamas School District is Oregon’s fifth largest out of nearly 200 districts throughout the state?
NCSD’s 32 schools are spread among 40 square miles encompassing Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Johnson City, Clackamas, and Happy Valley. In addition to its award-winning schools, the district also maintains several other buildings, including a central office, technology center, transportation headquarters, and a facilities/groundskeeping yard. That’s more than 2.5 million square feet of floorspace to shine, landscape to manage, technology to upgrade, and heating/cooling systems to maintain, let alone the daily operations that fill more than 160 school days each year. How is all of this accomplished? Take a look:
Building Maintenance
NCSD employs 16 maintenance staff members who maintain more than 30 buildings ranging in age from 6 to 100 years, along with all plumbing fixtures, heating and ventilation systems, and all the different pieces of equipment that help a school building function properly.
It must take a large team to cover that many buildings, right? Not really-- our specialized team includes three heating and ventilation technicians, two carpenters, two electricians, two locksmiths, one plumber, and a fire/security technician, all of whom are on the move all day, every day.
Grounds Maintenance
Each of our facility sites receives weekly mowing and trimming—that’s nearly 500 acres of grounds to maintain each week, which must mean a long list of groundskeepers spread out across the district each day. Actually, NCSD employs just seven general grounds staff members, along with one irrigation specialist, and one athletic field specialist. That’s nine total grounds staff, who each cover 69 acres every week!
Custodial Maintenance
Every school has multiple custodians, whose job is to maintain safe, clean, and healthy learning and work environments for students, staff, and community members. That means daily cleaning, disinfecting, sweeping, mopping, trash removal, and restroom maintenance, along with other school supports like changing filters, minor repairs, and even touch-up painting. NCSD employs 86 custodians across all buildings, which means each custodian is responsible for about 31,000 square feet each day. And you thought keeping your living space clean was a lot of work!
Safety, Security, & Technology
While not traditional facility maintenance, our technology and safety systems go hand in hand with operations. NCSD’s Technology & Information Services staff expertly manages the network that provides WiFi access in schools, all security cameras, emergency radios, the district phone system, and all computer hardware and software. Still, WiFi does not exist in NCSD outdoor areas, which is certainly a safety concern. Security cameras are also an area for improvement, which vary in numbers and placement among all district sites. NCSD is constantly working to improve its technology infrastructure to enhance the safety of all students and staff.
Superintendent’s Bond Advisory Committee: Asking and Answering Tough Questions
It’s no secret that school funding is an ongoing challenge for all Oregon school districts, and NCSD is no exception. As enrollment grows, how can North Clackamas adequately fund the necessary upgrades to our buildings and infrastructure that our students and staff richly deserve? And which of those proposed upgrades should be prioritized? Those are the types of questions addressed by our Superintendent’s Bond Advisory Committee, a superintendent-appointed group of community members, business leaders, staff, and students meeting throughout this fall.
“I appreciate the opportunity to have a voice for my community and represent our families,” says NCSD parent Nicole Woodfill. "I've learned a lot about the structures of our facilities and what we need for those."
The committee meets to review data, share ideas, discuss challenges, and help prioritize items for consideration as the district develops a bond package for voters. Should the Board move forward with a bond package, voters can expect to see a facility-focused bond on the November ballot in 2026.
NCSD Wants Your Input!
We want to know what facility improvements are most important to you and which you feel would most impact student learning.