By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City Council voted unanimously Monday to adopt a resolution showing support for the school district’s bond issue – and asking voters to do the same.
The resolution calls the condition of the current high school “unacceptable.” And it states that the public school system plays a big role in determining the city’s quality of life, caliber of education, attractiveness of the community to potential residents and businesses, and future economic development.
Council member Bill Herald, who wrote the resolution, stressed the need for Bowling Green City Schools to address the high school. He said a healthy public school system helps all schools in the community.
“There is no ‘us – them.’ We’re all in this together. We’re one community,” Herald said.
Council member Greg Robinette emphasized his “firm and unqualified” support for the school bond issue – as a citizen, taxpayer, and father of BGHS alumni. The “deteriorating” high school is “out-of-date,” and no longer provides a good learning environment for students or teachers, he said.
The 60-year-old school is also having a negative effect on the city’s economic development efforts, Robinette said.
That being said, Robinette explained he considered proposing an amendment that would have removed the wording of the resolution that asks voters to support the school bond issue. He explained that he is uncomfortable with language telling voters how to vote.
However, Robinette said he wants City Council to present a united front on the school issue, so the amendment was not proposed.
Council President Mark Hollenbaugh, a teacher in the North Baltimore district which has new buildings, said Bowling Green’s old high school has outlived its usefulness.
“When it’s time to build, it’s time to build,” he said.
The school district has made the drawings of the proposed high school available at https://www.bgcs.k12.oh.us/district/superintendent/facilities-planning. To pay for the new building, the district has placed a bond issue on the November ballot raising $72.8 million over 30 years.
Two citizens at Monday’s City Council meeting rose to speak in favor of the school bond issue.
Trevor Jessee, a member of BG Families for Schools, said the community’s investments in schools will positively impact students and teachers. He presented details on how residents of the Bowling Green City School district currently contribute less financially than those in surrounding districts.
According to figures from the Wood County Auditor’s Office in January 2023, based on a home valued at $150,000 with a $60,000 annual income, the typical Bowling Green resident pays less than surrounding districts, including:
- $126 less than in Elmwood
- $216 less than Otsego
- $318 less than Eastwood
- $498 less than Fostoria
- $570 less than Rossford
- $834 less than North Baltimore
- $1,125 less than Perrysburg
Perrysburg built a new high school in 2001, and Elmwood built a new high school in 2004, Jessee said. For Otsego, it was 2007, and North Baltimore followed in 2012. Rossford just recently finished construction of its new high school in 2020.
“The time for repair and renovation is over, and the need for a new high school building is growing more desperate every year,” Jessee said.
Former Mayor Dick Edwards said he and his wife, Nadine, applaud the efforts to get the high school bond issue passed in November. He spoke of their three daughters who graduated from BGHS.
“Little has changed in the physical sense over these years,” aside from a new Middle School, Edwards said.
“We are long overdue for a new high school,” he said, noting the well-documented needs of the building.
While Bowling Green City School District voters have repeatedly rejected new building funding issues, neighboring school districts have constructed new buildings.
“We as a community can no longer afford to turn a blind eye,” Edwards said.
The language of the resolution points out that one of the most important characteristics of a community is its school system.
“The quality of life, sense of belonging, identification with the community, educational outcomes, and all-around development of the community’s children, as well as the economic growth and the appeal of the community, are all significantly impacted and molded by the life and vitality of the community schools,” the resolution states.
It mentions the “mosaic of schools,” in Bowling Green, including the public schools, private schools, Wood Lane and home schools. And it talks about how support and involvement with schools deepens a sense of community, and contributes to the well being of the schools, children and overall community.
The resolution continues by stating, “in the spirit of community, we should all come together to support the Bowling Green school system in a myriad of ways, including giving of our time, our talent, and our treasure.”
“All members of Bowling Green are better off when the Bowling Green public school system is healthy,” it states.
Through the resolution, City Council “strongly and clearly” states that:
- “Regardless of which schools are attended and which level of support is given, we are one community.”
- “The Bowling Green school system is only healthy if its public school system is healthy.”
- “The current condition of the public high school building is unacceptable and needs to change to enhance quality of life, caliber of education, attractiveness of the Bowling Green community to potential residents and businesses, and future economic development for the benefit of the residents of Bowling Green.”
The resolution continues by stating that City Council, on behalf of the government and citizens of the city, supports the Bowling Green school system and strongly encourages each citizen to support the schools “in whichever ways each deems appropriate.” It states that council “recognizes and respects each citizen’s responsibility to research and vote accordingly.”
“With all of the above in mind, Bowling Green City Council encourages and recommends each citizen vote for the proposed public school bond issue,” the resolution states.
