West Holmes Schools to host community meetings
The condition of all of the school buildings in the West Holmes School District, like Millersburg Elementary, will be one of the topics discussed during the community meetings set in place by the West Holmes School District’s advisory committee. Public meetings in towns throughout the district will begin May 9 in Killbuck. The committee is eager to hear input from the community on building a new facility compared to the ongoing effort to patch aging school buildings.
For several months a West Holmes Schools facility advisory committee from the West Holmes School District has been working with architectural firm Fanning Howey, collecting data and studying the possibilities concerning how it wants to best serve district families and staff as far as school building facilities.
With numerous questions swirling around how the West Holmes School District should approach the future concerning the evaluation of the district’s school buildings, Superintendent Eric Jurkovic and the school board have pulled out all the stops in delving into every corner of the district to glean the thoughts and concerns of the public.
Jurkovic said the initial exploratory committee is made up of about 40 individuals who represent an array of areas within the district. He said the group includes people who brought varying views as to the direction the district should take in possibly building a district-wide complex near land at the high school.
One fact the committee has found is the elementary schools are all lacking in meeting standards and need a lot of work.
“The committee did a lot of heavy lifting and took a deep dive into what the district needs are as far as buildings and what we are facing right now and the options that are available to us,” Jurkovic said.
With that task complete, he said it’s time to take the next step in the process, that being connecting with the various communities directly involved with the decision.
Beginning May 9, the district advisory council will begin a session of community meetings to discuss pertinent topics that will shape the future of the district.
The West Holmes Local School District will host community meetings to share the facility advisory committee’s process regarding the State of Ohio’s evaluations of the current buildings.
“We felt it was absolutely necessary to get the community’s input on the process, and these meetings were created so they have a chance to share their concerns and provide us with their thoughts on what direction we should take,” Jurkovic said. “In the end these are the community’s buildings, and we want to hear from them as to their thoughts on a new facility versus continuing to pour money into investing into fixing ongoing issues in buildings that are old. The parts in the current buildings are starting to talk to us now, and we’re investing a lot of money into upkeep. It’s just reality that when things get old, they break down.”
The meetings will be hosted at four different buildings throughout the district to give community members every opportunity to hear what the committee has learned and to share concerns about the buildings and offer possible solutions.
The meeting dates and sites include the following: Tuesday, May 9 at Killbuck Elementary; Thursday, May 11 at Lakeville Elementary; Wednesday, May 17 at Millersburg Elementary; and Thursday, May 18 at West Holmes Middle School. All meetings will begin at 6 p.m.
The committee said it knew placing anything on the November ballot was far too soon, and Jurkovic said there is no reason to rush into any decision. He said taking the time to do this the right way and making sure they hear and understand all the issues at hand is critical.
“We want to hear all views and representation in the process, and creating these meetings was a good way to reach out into all of our communities,” Jurkovic said.
He said they expect to discuss several different options the committee is exploring, financing possibilities, when decisions will be made, how to provide the best education for district children and more.
“It’s been a time-consuming process, but it’s been one that has been filled with good dialogue and conversations that have come from a variety of thoughts,” Jurkovic said. “Hearing from the community will only give us further details in how the district wants to proceed.”