By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
To the average passerby, there is no visible progress on the new Bowling Green High School, approved by voters in November.
There are no new walls going up, no old walls coming down – but $72.8 million in bonds have been sold – at a lower than expected interest rate that will save the district about $13 million over the 30-year life of the bonds.
And in preparation for all the moving pieces, the school board voted Tuesday evening to declare an urgent necessity and start the process of relocating the practice field north of the current high school parking lot.
“Please know that just because you don’t see a building going up yet” it doesn’t mean that progress isn’t being made, Board of Education President Tracy Hovest said Tuesday evening.
Superintendent Ted Haselman reported that the district had been awarded a AA3 bond rating, which helped with the bond sales.
District Treasurer Cathy Schuller reported on the sale of bonds last week, describing it as a volatile day, with a lot of fluctuation and a lot of interest in the school district bonds.
When planning for the $72.8 million high school bond issue, it was predicted that the interest rate would be 5.25%. But the district ended up with 4.07%. That will save about $13 million over the 30-year life of the bonds, Schuller said.
“That’s huge,” she said. “It was a very successful day.”
(Later in the meeting, the board voted to not renew Schuller’s contract, with no reason given.) https://bgindependentmedia.org/bg-school-board-votes-4-1-to-not-renew-contact-with-district-treasurer/
The board voted to proceed with moving the athletic practice field to a space north of the Middle School, between Fairview Avenue and the district’s baseball field.
Haselman said the project needs to start soon in order to have the field ready for student athletes in the summer and fall. The move will free up space for the new high school parking lot and the geothermal energy system for the new building – which will be constructed in the current parking lot for the high school.
“We need to do it sooner rather than later,” Haselman said. This will help move the timeline along for the high school.
“We will still go through the bid process,” for the field relocation, he assured.
The next step will be hiring a construction manager for the high school, once the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission approves its contract for the project.
In other business at the meeting, the board:
- Recognized first place NLL All League swimmers, Ela Ostrowski, Margaret Layne, Ella Billiot, Alayna Mahan and Alex Xu. Also honored was Gary Layne, who has been named NLL Boys Swimming Coach of the Year and NLL Girls Swimming Co-Coach of the Year.
- Hired Jennifer Campos to fill the newly created position of communications and public relations director, with an annual salary of $75,000.
- Hired Adam Kohman as manager of the Performing Arts Center, with an annual salary of $50,000.
- Entered an agreement with Rumpke Waste & Recycling Services for collection and disposal of all waste and recyclables for the district for an initial term of three years. Haselman said it is difficult to find a company that will take recyclables, which will save the district about $2,500 a month.
- Approved a district calendar for two years, 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, which should make it easier for families to plan ahead, Hovest said.
- Heard from Hovest that the efforts are underway to post snapshots of the district’s finances each month on its website. “This will help in building a bridge between the school district and the community,” she said.
