By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City Schools is taking baby steps toward putting a bond issue for buildings on the ballot.
Before school officials take the plunge – maybe as soon as next November – they want to know what district voters want for children, and what expense they are willing to support.
“I don’t like to go to the ballot with a hope and a prayer,” Superintendent Francis Scruci said Wednesday evening to a group of parents, teachers and community members gathered in Kenwood Elementary School’s gymnasium.
This was one in a series of meetings Scruci is holding throughout the district to present information on the school building needs.
While the audience had questions of the superintendent, he also had questions for them. Before putting any issue on the ballot, the district needs to know:
- Is there support for consolidating the three elementary schools into one building?
- How much are citizens willing to pay for improving school facilities?
“We’re all ears at this point,” Scruci said.
After community meetings earlier this year, the district is leaning toward paying for any building renovations or new construction with local funds. “Accepting state money doesn’t make a lot of sense for us,” Scruci explained since the state share would be 11 to 14 percent. “We’d have to play by their rules,” he added.
“If we do this project as a community, we make all the decisions,” Scruci said.
School officials are also favoring building a new consolidated elementary building on district land north of the middle school, rather than renovating the three existing elementaries. Another option is renovating Crim and Kenwood, and building a new Conneaut where it stands now. The final option is do nothing, and risk the chance of costs escalating more.
The earliest a bond issue would appear on the ballot is November 2017. If it passes, the new school could be open three years later.
For the first time in these community meetings, the district had calculated estimated bond millage and costs to homeowners for several of the building options. The options ranged from the lowest estimate of $37 million for renovating the schools, to the highest estimate of $75 million for building a new consolidated elementary and a new high school. The cost to an owner of a $100,000 home would be $130 a year for the lowest millage, to $263 a year for the highest.
“We’re not going to build something that’s over the top,” Scruci said. “We’re not building a Taj Mahal.”
Superintendent Francis Scruci talks about building options
The superintendent told the audience that voters will be presented with the millage required to give the students what they need. Voters should not think that if they reject a bond issue that it will come back to them at a lower amount, he said.
“When we come to you, it’s going to be with the plan that we need,” Scruci said.
Reaction from the audience at Kenwood was positive.
“It’s about time we do something,” one parent said.
“Never have I seen a school district be so proactive” to get information out and input back from citizens, said another parent.
The timing of the bond issue could be tricky. The district is likely to ask for renewal of its 0.5 percent income tax next spring. It’s possible the district will need a new operating levy in 2019.
“We have to continue to make the case that we’re a good value,” Scruci said.
Bowling Green’s elementary and high school buildings lag behind others in the region. “We’re trailing,” he said. “When new families come,” they are looking at schools. “Property values are associated with good schools. I think our kids deserve it.”
Consolidating all the elementaries into one building would allow for 12 classrooms of each grade level, so the numbers of students in each room could be equalized. It would allow for increased collaboration, better use of resources, a centralized location for special programs, energy efficiency, and a better traffic flow as students arrive at and leave school.
By combining elementaries, school officials also hope to eliminate the perception of the “haves and have-nots” in the district. “We’re trying to break down these perceptions,” Scruci said.
During previous community meetings, Scruci has heard concerns about consolidating the elementaries. But most of concerns have either been dispelled or can be resolved. Very few children walk to school now, and the busing costs could actually be less to one centralized site. The district would ensure that the vacated schools would not become eyesores, he said.
Advantages of building a new centralized building include the lack of disruption to the existing elementaries during construction, and the wise use of funds. “How much good money do we put in old buildings,” Scruci said.
Other information presented at Wednesday’s meeting included:
- Crim Elementary could be repurposed as the central office of the school district. Expanded preschool classes could be offered there as well as programming for students with autism. “We don’t have the resources to meet those needs,” Scruci said.
- Enrollment demands at Kenwood Elementary will require a modular classroom to be added to that school next year. A modular classroom was added at Conneaut Elementary this year. “We’re busting at the seams,” Scruci said.
- Air conditions continue to be a problem, with classroom temperatures reaching as high as 103 degrees earlier this school year. That caused school to be closed due to concerns for students’ health. “I did not make that decision as a political move,” Scruci said. “We don’t play those kind of games.”
- The middle school was built to hold the seventh and eighth grades, then had to handle sixth grades as well. “We’re overcrowded as it is,” Scruci said. The middle school cafeteria also needs an expansion. “It is jam packed.” So either an addition is needed on the middle school, or the consolidated elementary needs to be built to handle the sixth grades also.
The next public meeting on school facilities will be held Tuesday, Nov. 15, immediately following the Board of Education 5 p.m. meeting at Conneaut Elementary.
