Troy schools update residents on school construction plans

Troy City Schools Superintendent Chris Piper outlined plans for the district’s upcoming new buildings project and answered questions from the community in a recent Facebook Live program.

District voters in November 2023 approved a bond issue to raise $154 million to build four new schools. Three will be for elementary students and the fourth will be for fifth and sixth grade middle school students. The buildings will replace seven buildings, with construction planned to increase efficiencies and allow more staff collaboration.

Among questions submitted to Piper were about plans for enhanced security at the new schools and traffic control around new school sites. The buildings will include secure vestibules leading to the office without direct access to buildings, Piper said.

Piper also talked about design work under way as part of the partnership with Ruetschle Architects and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.

A four-phase project is being planned to start with the Hook and Cookson elementary school sites followed by the south middle school and an elementary school off Ohio 718; a high school update project; and systemwide purchase of furnishings and related needs.

Piper also talked about the Board of Education vote on Sept. 9 to approve a real estate exchange agreement with the city of Troy and the city park board for property that will accommodate the new school construction. The exchange will provide community ballfields and allow future development of properties where existing schools will be removed as part of the district building program.

Piper said the land transfers are important to the overall district plan that includes building on the current Hook Elementary School and Cookson Elementary School sites. For those locations to work for planned larger school buildings, the district will need city park land located adjacent to both school sites.

As part of the agreement, the schools would provide four to six youth-sized ballfields including backstops on school properties including the new elementary schools at the Cookson and Hook school sites, a new elementary at the McKaig/Arthur Road site and a middle school site off Swailes Road.

The four to six ballfields would replace four fields that will be lost with the transfer of the Hook and Campbell park properties.

Piper said another Facebook program is being planned for November.

For more information on the district’s construction plans, visit Home - Troy City Schools

Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com

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