West Carrollton has verbally accepted into the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission building program. The state funding will significantly cut the local costs of a plan to replace its current seven buildings, district officials have said.
All of the buildings in the district – which includes parts of Miami Twp. and Moraine - are at least 50 years old and a plan to replace them with four new buildings on three sites has been projected to cost anywhere from $125 million to $140 million.
RELATED: West Carrollton to close elementary school after academic year
Setting aside 0.5 mills from the permanent improvement fund – which the district has had since the mid-1990s – would account for about $190,000 a year for annual maintenance, Haag said.
The move is designed “to show how you’re going to provide that maintenance and set aside a separate account so those monies can only be used for maintenance and upkeep of the brand new school buildings,” he said.
The West Carrollton board is also set to approve a masterplan for the OFCC Expedited Local Partnership Program. The board’s votes on the school building project are pre-requisites for the OFCC’s board to formally accept West Carrollton, thereby locking in a 81 percent state match on all building projects for new schools that are co-funded, Haag said.
The state board’s vote – expected in upcoming weeks - would also pave the way for district to put a bond issue on the November ballot, he said.
RELATED: West Carrollton voters approve first levy in 9 years
The district is projecting to have a 5.7-mill bond issue on the November ballot, according to its website, although the school board has yet to vote on a specific millage. That is expected this month or next, district officials said.
The bond issue is expected to cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $199 more a year or about $149 for those eligible for the Homestead Exemption, according to the school district.
The new building proposal calls for a pre-kindergarten to first grade building and another housing students in grades two through four on the current sites of Early Childhood Center and West Carrollton Middle School.
A third building – to include fifth- and sixth-graders – would be constructed the current site of Holliday Elementary. The last site – which Schnell Elementary and West Carrollton High School – would include a campus housing seventh-graders through seniors, according to the district.
Earlier this year, the board of education voted to permanently close Nicholas Elementary after it completes classes this week.
RELATED: West Carrollton school plan may cost $140M, include consolidation
About the Author
