Our History

We have been doing this for a while now — ever since Briscoe Elementary closed in 2003 and then Lincoln Elementary closed two years later in 2005. We started our founding organization, Save Our Schools & Playgrounds, in May 2004, as a grassroots community effort to try to save Briscoe School Park after Briscoe Elementary closed. We added Lincoln School Park to our list of parks that were in need of preserving shortly thereafter.

Here is a “Brief History” as written up in our November 2005 Task Force Report, “Sharing Resources, Sharing Responsibilities:  Recommendations for Preserving Schools & Playgrounds.”

(This History was updated September 2021)

School Closures (2003-2005)

Due to declining enrollment in Ashland schools and years of inadequate funding on the state level, the Ashland School Board decided that the closure of two elementary schools was necessary. Briscoe Elementary was closed in June 2003, and Lincoln Elementary was closed in June 2005.

Committee Appointed by Superintendent (2003)

In spring of 2003, Ashland School District Superintendent, Juli Di Chiro, appointed a committee of land development and real estate specialists to look into what would be in the best financial interest for the School District to do with the Briscoe Elementary site. The committee’s recommendation to the Superintendent in the fall of 2003 was to keep the building as is, continue to lease the building, and build “mixed-use development” on the playground and playing field.

Save Our Schools & Playgrounds (2004)

Upon hearing of the committee’s recommendation to build mixed-use development on Briscoe playground, neighbors and other concerned community members came together in May 2004 to form what would later become the non-profit group, Save Our Schools and Playgrounds (SOSP). The initial intent of the group was to find a long-term, permanent funding solution that would enable the community to preserve Briscoe playground as a neighborhood park as well as to support Ashland schools.

It was not long before Lincoln Elementary playground was added to SOSP’s list of playgrounds that were at risk, as Lincoln was due to close in June 2005. Neighbors in the Lincoln neighborhood expressed a strong desire to keep Lincoln playground as a neighborhood park and asked to be included in our efforts.

 Past Agreements with Ashland School District, Ashland Parks & Recreation Department & City of Ashland for School Grounds Maintenance (2002-2005)

In 2002, the Ashland City Budget Committee approved and fully funded the non-recreational grounds maintenance request of $205,000 to cover all of the District’s school grounds non- recreational maintenance for the 2002/2003 school year.

In 2003, the Ashland Parks Department reduced the amount they felt
they needed for proper non-recreational grounds maintenance to $133,000 for the 2003/2004 school year. It was approved by the budget committee.

Three options were presented for the third year. The budget committee approved the third option, which shared the cost between the three agencies (City, Parks and School District) for the 2004/2005 school year. Each agency contributed $43,000 towards the full cost of non- recreational grounds maintenance at all of the schools, which was determined to be $129,000.

No proposal for City funding of school grounds maintenance was made to the budget committee for the 2005/2006 school year. In his presentation, the Parks Commission Chair, Mike Gardiner, explained that they were in negotiation with the school for long-term funding. The Budget Committee approved the Parks Department budget as presented.

School Grounds Maintenance (2004-2005)

During the 2004/2005 school year, the Ashland Parks Department maintained play equipment at all school playgrounds free of charge. The Ashland School District paid the Parks Department approximately $60,000 for maintenance of recreational areas, which was funded by the Youth Activities Levy. (This amount varies from year to year.)

The Ashland Parks Department had a $129,000/year contract for maintenance of the non-recreational areas at all of the schools. This was funded one-third by the City, one-third by the School District, and one-third by the Parks Department ($43,000 each). The actual subsidy to the Ashland School District was therefore $86,000.

Briscoe tenant, OCDC, paid for watering both recreational and non-recreational areas at Briscoe School.

Formation of Task Force (2005)

At the conclusion of the Joint Meeting between the Parks Commission and the Ashland School Board on November 15, 2004, it was decided that the next step would be the formation of a task force to study and explore further funding options that would enable the community to preserve Briscoe & Lincoln playgrounds for use as neighborhood parks. The Task Force, which was sponsored by Save Our Schools & Playgrounds but included representatives from all three agencies as well as the community, held its first meeting in January 2005 and concluded its work in November 2005.

The goals and objectives of the Task Force were to explore possible solutions that would enable the community to preserve Briscoe & Lincoln playgrounds for use as neighborhood parks, to generate revenue for the school district, and to develop a funding plan for long-term maintenance of these playgrounds.

Ashland Parks & Recreation Department Ends Funding for Ashland School District’s Non-Recreational Grounds Maintenance (2005)

In a letter dated May 9, 2005, the Director of Ashland Parks and Recreation, Don Robertson, conveyed to Ashland School District Superintendent, Juli Di Chiro, that the Parks Commission considered the non-recreational school grounds maintenance to be “outside the scope of their mission and purpose for using resources.” Mr. Robertson informed Ms. Di Chiro that the maintenance of the non-recreational school ground areas would be discontinued, effective July 1, 2005.

Mr. Robertson also expressed the Parks Commission’s concern regarding the potential loss of the playgrounds at Briscoe and Lincoln Schools, which the Parks Commission treats as neighborhood parks. He added that in order to preserve the land as a neighborhood park the Parks Commission “would be interested in entering into an agreement for the continued maintenance of the non-recreational areas.”

Ashland Parks Department’s Proposal to Purchase Briscoe Playground in Return for Grounds Maintenance (2005)

In the same letter, dated May 9, 2005 (see previous section), the Ashland Parks & Recreation Department submitted a proposal to the Ashland School District to purchase the approximately 1.7-acre playground and playing field at Briscoe Elementary. The Parks Department proposed that they would maintain all of the non-recreational school grounds at all of the district’s schools for $129,000 per year (with a 3% per year increase), which would be credited, over approximately five years, towards a purchase of Briscoe’s playground and playing field at fair market value.

With permission from the District, the Parks Department had a professional appraisal of Briscoe’s playground and playing field done in the spring of 2005. The appraised value of the approximately 1.7-acre playground and playing field was determined to be between $600,000 and $700,000.

At a Special Session of the Ashland School Board on May 18, 2005, the School Board voted not to accept the proposal for the sale of Briscoe Playground in return for grounds services. The format of the initial proposal was found to be unacceptable to the Board and the School Board declined the offer. The School Board instructed district staff to respond to the Parks Commission and to thank them for the proposal and for initiating the conversation. The School Board directed district staff to invite the Parks Commission to continue the discussion in the future.

School Grounds Maintenance (2005)

The Ashland Parks Department maintained all of the play equipment at all of the school playgrounds free of charge.

Beginning July 1, 2005, the Ashland School District entered into an agreement with Jackson County Roads and Parks Services regarding school grounds maintenance. The initial agreement was a $67,101/year contract for maintenance of all of the district’s
recreational and non-recreational areas. The contract left out Lincoln Elementary, the back of Briscoe Elementary, Willow Wind Community Learning Center and the Wilderness Charter School. Adding these properties, additional mowing, irrigation repair and a 10% contingency fee brought the total to $88,618/year. These additions to the contract were approved by the Ashland School Board on October 12, 2005.

Briscoe tenant, Oregon Child Development Coalition (OCDC), shared the cost for irrigating the non-recreational areas (front and side yards) at Briscoe with the building’s other tenant, ArtWing. OCDC stopped paying for irrigation of the recreational area (back field) at Briscoe in 2005.

The Ashland School District paid for all other watering. Ashland Middle School is on TID. The District stopped watering the fields at Lincoln and Briscoe until just before July 4, 2005, resulting in some die back of lawns and stress to trees and shrubs.

Intergovernmental Agreement (2007)

The Ashland City Council, Ashland Parks Commission, and the Ashland School Board entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) regarding the maintenance of all the Ashland School District’s recreational and non-recreational areas by the Parks Department in 2007. This 5-year agreement, which also included shared use of Ashland School District gyms, classrooms, music rooms, theaters, wood shops, etc., with the Ashland Parks Department, fell through in 2008 without the community’s knowledge.

Save Our Schools & Playgrounds Reconvenes (2017)

In 2016, it came to our attention that the issue of Briscoe & Lincoln Playgrounds had not been resolved.  The Ashland School Board asked their Facilities Committee to explore all options regarding the future of both Briscoe and Lincoln properties.  On March 5, 2017, Save Our Schools & Playgrounds reconvened to organize efforts to preserve both neighborhood school parks. Friends of Lincoln Park, an offshoot of SOSP, was launched in 2018.

City of Ashland and Ashland Parks & Recreation Department Purchases Briscoe Property (2018)

The sale of the entire Briscoe property (3.79-acres) was finalized on April 1, 2018.  The City of Ashland purchased the front portion of the property (including the building) for $1,540,000 to be paid in 14 installments of $114,000 each.  The Ashland Parks & Recreation Department purchased the approximately 1.7-acre park for $500,000.  Parks made a down payment of $50,000 and agreed to make 9 more annual payments of $50,000 to be paid with Food & Beverage Tax funds that are dedicated to the acquisition of parkland.