New Philadelphia BOE nails down bond issue details
A conceptual rendering of the south entrance to a proposed new elementary school that will bring Pre-K through grade six students together in one building if voters pass the school bond issue and levy in May.
By now, most New Philadelphia residents are aware the city’s school system will be asking them, for the second time, to pass a $72 million bond issue and levy when they go to the polls next month. What they may not be aware of, though, are new details that have come to light in response to specific questions they’ve been asking school officials and the bond committee.
In an effort to understand why the measure failed previously, a number of community meetings have been held over the past several months to gain insight that could help get the bond issue approved this time around.
“The two main objections we heard were higher taxes and concerns about traffic on the south side,” said Stacie Godfrey, chair of the “Yes for NP” bond committee. “There’s nothing we can do to overcome the fact that some people feel they can’t afford to vote yes. The increase in property tax will be $20.17 a month, or $242 a year based on a $100,000 home value.”
Regarding the traffic issue, Godfrey said people are concerned that having all elementary grades in one location as is the plan will result in more traffic. However, she said the new PreK-6 school is being designed to bring more traffic onto the school campus instead of having cars lining the street.
A traffic study has also been conducted, the results of which have been captured in a 300 page report being studied now by school officials.
“We are also planning to meet with city officials to review the results,” said Amy Wentworth, New Philadelphia City Schools superintendent. “We are very optimistic that there are going to be some cost effective things we can do to help mitigate traffic concerns based on the results of this study.”
Wentworth said she also heard from parents who said if all their children could take the same bus and go straight to their schools, they would have them ride the bus, further reducing traffic near the schools.
“We’ve also been told by the city that it may be easier for them to control traffic if all our students are in two locations instead of being spread out in five schools around town,” said Godfrey.
Location chosen for new grades 7-12 school
Wentworth said those who participated in the community meetings were instrumental in a recentdecision to build the new middle-high school in the same location as the existing one.
“They told us they really wanted to keep our high school in the middle of town,” said Wentworth.
Godfrey said the new school will keep some sections of the current school. “We understand that people have a lot of attachment to the schools, so the gym, choir and band wing will be retained and incorporated into the new building,” she said. “But there will also be new high school and middle school gyms, so there will be three gyms to provide space for multiple activities to take place at the same time.”
Reasons given for needed new schools
According to Godfrey, the four most important reasons new schools are needed are maintenance issues, overcrowding, safety issues and transportation.
Wentworth agreed, saying, “The costs to maintain our current buildings can easily exceed the cost to build new ones. And when it comes to security, our aging schools simply don’t meet the safety standards set for today’s schools. We’re overcrowded, and all of our elementary schools have kids in modular classrooms separate from the school building. So if a child needs to use the restroom, they have to get a key, take a buddy along, and walk to the school building in all kinds of weather.”
Wentworth said the quality of a city’s schools is also a key determiner of where families choose to move. “We just had a family call us saying they are moving into the area, so they set up appointments to tour our high school and Dover’s. They are going to use that information to decide which community they want to live in.”
Reasons to build now.
“It is never going to cost less than it does right now for us to build,” said Wentworth. The state of Ohio has offered to fund more than 50% of the costs for both schools, but only if the bond issue and levy pass.”Wentworth said it is a limited time offer that could be withdrawn as early as this summer.
Additional details, including renderings of the new school buildings, photos of the aging schools and access to the Facility Master Planning Project can be found at www.YESforNP.com. There is also a Facebook page (Yes for NP – New Philadelphia Schools) where updates are routinely provided.