Rossford voters will face a ballot measure in November for a school levy worth almost $70 million.
The Rossford Schools facilities committee developed a plan for a new building for prekindergarten through fifth graders that would hold up to 800 students. The high school built in 1922 would be preserved and get additions.
The millage amount hasn’t been finalized, but the price is estimated at $69.6 million. Superintendent Dan Creps said the district is going to bond council in May to determine a final millage for the ballot.
The new building would be erected on the Glenwood Elementary site, which houses kindergarten through second grade students. Eagle Point Elementary would be closed.
Both schools were built in the 1920s.
“If you were to just renovate all our facilities as they currently are, it would be extremely expensive,” Mr. Creps said. “So to maintain all of them and bring them up to ADA compliance would be a huge expense.”
The district only has one maintenance person, making upkeep that much tougher.
Making facilities friendlier for physically challenged students is one of district’s most important goals, he said. Glenwood does not have elevators, and classrooms have been moved around to accommodate students in wheelchairs.
He said one of the biggest challenges with the building is heating and cooling.
Eagle Point does not have air conditioning, and Glenwood has it in only part of the building. Classroom temperatures can rise to 90 degrees on warm days. Smart Boards have overheated and shut down, making classroom instruction more difficult, he said.
“Then you go to a winter month when you’re running boilers and these older systems, sometimes you’ll see our kids wearing shorts in January because the boilers are pumping so much heat up into the system,” Mr. Creps said. “We’ll have windows pushed open to cool the building.”
Plans for the school at the Glenwood site call for a pond to be dug to curb flooding problems and the removal of an old track. An addition built in 1981 would remain but receive renovations.
New facilities at the downtown building for sixth through 12th graders would incorporate new sections for classrooms and athletics with a remodeled original building. Residents stressed on a recent survey that keeping the 1922 structure should be the focus of any plans.
Prekindergarten through second-grade students could remain at Glenwood during construction, and Eagle Point would stay open. The district is weighing options for how to manage construction at the downtown building, which may require temporarily displacement of some students during the work period.
Improvements also are slated for the high school football stadium if the levy passes, including a defined, brick entryway.
“A lot of the concrete work would need to be addressed to make sure it’s all structurally sound,” Mr. Creps said. “The bleachers are all in need of repair. Where they had been resurfaced once before, they’re starting to crack and peel.”
The board failed to get enough votes in December to place a $76 million levy on the March ballot. Three board members since have been replaced.
Contact Jay Skebba at: jskebba@theblade.com, 419-376-9414, or on Twitter @JaySkebbaBlade.
First Published April 25, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
