Tusky Valley Local plans upgrade by utilizing tax revenue from Rover Pipeline

Tusky Valley Local plans upgrade by utilizing tax revenue from Rover Pipeline
Kyle Valentini

The district wants to go from four buildings to two to increase efficiency and maximize space. The plan includes a new high school and moving pre-k through sixth grade into the existing middle school.

                        

Tuscarawas Valley Local School District is planning to redesign its campus by utilizing tax revenue from the Rover Pipeline. Officials are seeking state funding in addition to the new income but are not asking taxpayers for additional revenue.

Superintendent Mark Murphy said the district wants to go from four buildings to two to increase efficiency and maximize space. The plan includes a new high school, moving pre-k through sixth grade into the existing middle school, and selective demolition and renovation to make space for a community center and other improvements.

“It is ultimately about designing educational facilities that will benefit the quality of education for all children in our school district for years and generations to come, as well as benefit our local community,” Murphy said.

The plan shifts 1.5 mills of tax revenue into a permanent improvement fund. Currently residents of the district are paying three levies and a bond. The bond paid for the construction of the current middle school will expire in December.

Murphy expects to try to renew the levies as a safety net and to continue paying operating costs. Because they are all fixed-sum levies, as property values rise, taxpayers should see a decrease in their tax bill.

The current plan only takes into account revenues expected from stage one of Rover Pipeline construction, and the school board is expected to make another shift of millage in October when stage two is completed.

Sixty-one percent of the cost will fall to the district and be covered by the annual utility tax revenue checks from the Rover Pipeline. The company has already issued a check for $1.5 million that is ready to go toward construction.

“Nearly 100 percent of where the Rover Pipeline runs through Tuscarawas County is within the boundaries of Tuscarawas Valley Local,” Murphy said.

Murphy is hoping the state will pay 39 percent of the cost to improve the campus through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. The commission has labeled Tusky Valley as a lapsed school district, and they planned to work together in the past.

Issues were placed on the ballot in 2008 and 2009 that were both voted down, so the partnership never went anywhere. While state funding for the project is not guaranteed at the moment, Murphy is watching the governor’s budget as it winds through the legislature and attending meetings of the OFCC. He expects to know if the state will help with the cost by June.

The natural gas industry in Eastern Ohio has already helped some schools upgrade. Carrollton Exempted Village Local Schools is building a $38 million high school with help from a company that operates a natural gas-powered power plant in the area.

Conotton Valley Union Local Schools is building an $18 million educational complex with a gymnasium, pool, bowling alley, daycare center, senior center, walking track, fitness equipment, cafe and health clinic.

Director of public relations for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association Mike Chadsey recently told members of the New Philadelphia Rotary the industry has brought $45.8 million in taxes to the area. He added they also paid $302.6 million to improve 639 miles of roads in the area.

Proximity to the Rover Pipeline has had some drawbacks for the area. Millions of gallons of drilling fluid spilled into an area wetland in April 2017. This and other spills led the Ohio Attorney General to file a lawsuit that was dismissed by a Stark County judge in March.

“Underground pipelines are the safest mode of transporting natural gas, and the U.S. Department of Transportation statistics show that underground pipelines transport natural gas far more safely than ships, rail cars or trucks,” according to Rover Pipeline’s website.

For more information on the project, visit www.tvtrojans.org/highschool.aspx or follow the district on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

“We want to be as clear as possible,” Murphy said, “because we believe this is the opportunity of a lifetime and we want to be sure we are communicating about it.”

The school board meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at Tuscarawas Valley High School. Parents and residents are invited to attend the open meetings but are asked to call the superintendent at 330-859-2213 at least one week before if they have items they would like added to the agenda.


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