Keeping Books in Gervais

Gervais, a rural town in Western Oregon, almost fits the description of a book desert – a place where a community lacks access to books. The residents are fighting hard to make their city something better. The town’s resilience in the face of adversity is a story worth telling. The only access to books in the community came from the Gervais public school system, as there were no libraries or bookstores. Now the schools were at risk of closing. With a median income of around $30,000 and strong anti-tax sentiment, the residents resisted the bond measure that would repair their schools. The elementary school stood in such disrepair that children sat in 50-degree weather whenever the boiler broke down, which was often. The rest of the year they dealt with hot temperatures and no air conditioning. The middle school sat in two old prefabricated modular buildings with no common areas. The high school built wood frames around old Victorian-style heaters to keep students from getting burned. Security for all three schools was nonexistent. The intercom worked intermittently and did not reach all buildings. For nine years the school
district tried to pass a bond to cover repairs, and each time it was defeated. One resident said, “It’s like trying to buy a house when you don’t have food and medicine.” They had tried to get funds through the legislature for a new roof and were defeated twice. Water buckets stood everywhere during Oregon’s rainy season. Finally, the district determined that they could not go on and decided they would disband and close all the schools. The buildings weren’t safe for students anymore.

If the schools closed, students would be transported by bus to several other districts. They would travel an hour to reach school in the morning. The only access to books in the community would die out since there would be no libraries or bookstores in Gervais beyond those the schools provide. The school district is the biggest employer in town. Most jobs would be lost. Facing all this, the residents still resisted any bond measures to repair the schools. More than half of the students identify as Hispanic or Latino. 80 % qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch. Many others were “Old Believers”, descendants of Medieval Russian immigrants who resist social change. Still, students in Gervais performed well above average in both attendance and graduation. Clearly, beyond the money issue, parents were dedicated to learning. There had to be a solution there, but hope was nearly lost after 9 attempts at getting the residents to pay an increased bond had failed. The last bond measure was passed 33 years ago in 1991. The pace of time moves slowly in a small town. Animals who are born and die in one life cycle mark the passage of time and all else stays the same.

In French, Gervais means spearman, and Gervais, like other districts in western Oregon, is named after a French Canadian explorer. Oregon makes much of its grit as a place settled by hard-strapping pioneers. When the town faced this adversity, they applied a survivor mentality they were already familiar with and looked to the future for new solutions. The school district lowered the bond to make it more appealing to property owners, and a grant from the state would add another 4 million to the bond. Additionally, the school district created a community oversight committee and the city offered a “bond tax grant” to low- income residents who owned property. Open forums listened to the residents’ concerns, and educating the community became paramount. Residents did not seem to know that they would pay more tax if students were sent to other districts, or that they would be forced to pay money to districts other than their own. There were visible signs that this community would triumph. Gervais Elementary School won a grant to place free little libraries in corrugated steel outside of their school entrance. The librarian keeps the books in good shape for elementary, middle-grade, and YA readers. There’s even a category for high- middle grade books. It was a positive symbol of the town’s commitment to education. In addition, a venue for more income materialized when the town considered renting space and buildings to visiting circuses and canine training events.

The bond passed in 2023. A property assessed at $145,000 would amount to about $22 a month in
taxes. That’s still a lot of money for people who don’t have lunch money for their kids or live with several families to a house. However, the grant for low-income families will solve that issue.
The newly renovated schools will be the pride of a community already dedicated to the importance and promise of education. Perhaps not all communities will be this lucky and book deserts will continue to exist. However, a tenacious school district understood the financial burden of its community and found creative solutions to keep its children educated. The solution in Gervais was a much less complicated configuration than the solution would be to avert a book desert in a more metropolitan area, but the people of Gervais tell us that if they can do it, so can anyone.