BELLVILLE, Ohio — Two new elementary school buildings will be decided by voters in the Clear Fork school district during the March 15 primary election.
After months of discussions and public meetings, the district’s board of education announced its decision to put a measure on the ballot at a meeting Tuesday night. The board sought advice from Ohio Representative Mark Romanchuk, other government representatives and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC).
The sticking point centered on “mandated locally funded initiatives,” or costs the district would have been required to pay. The district was first told those costs would have added $3.6 million to the building project for two schools, or $5 million for one combined school construction project.
“Our mandated LFI’s are now zero,” Superintendent Janice Wyckoff told board members, meaning the district will not have to fund the extra expenses.
According to the conditional approval accepted by Clear Fork, the state’s share in the construction’s costs would be $15,615,530. The local share would be $9,983,699. The scope of the project includes building two schools to house pre-kindergarten through fifth grade with an allowance to demolish the Bellville and Butler schools for a total estimated cost of $25,599,229.
“I’m glad we saved $3.6 million for the tax payers,” Wyckoff said.
She said she believes if the district had been required to pay the extra costs the project might not have been possible.
“Or we would have been stuck with a simple box design for both schools,” she said.
By not having to pay the mandated expenses, the district can both reflect local heritage in architecture and possibly have additional space for an auditorium.
District officials noted Romanchuk’s assistance in the negotiations.
“The Mansfield area is lucky to have him,” Wyckoff said. “He took the time to look over our district and then talked to OFCC and other representatives.”
Larry Obhof, Jim Jordan, Ron Amstutz and Margaret Ann Rulh were also credited for assisting the district.
Jason Snyder and Jim Jackson said the community consensus favors building two schools. The exact locations are still being decided as the board reviews construction data.
“The new building in Butler will be beside or behind the existing structure,” Wyckoff said.
Bellville’s building options are still under consideration, but will likely be near the existing building. Before any of that can happen, the district will need to convince voters to renew a one-percent earned income tax levy.
“The message needs to be this is for new schools,” Jackson said.
Treasurer Bradd Stevens noted the renewal will have the same language on the ballot as the original levy. They feel this may be confusing to some voters because the original levy said the funds were for “operating expenses.” Board president Jim DeSanto explained that operating expenses can be used for any purpose, including new construction.
“This is a historic day,” Jackson said. “I’m proud we have accomplished this.”
He said if the levy passes in March the district will be on its way to having two new schools.
Should the measure fail, the state will re-evaluate enrollment figures and likely not approve a two-school option, board members said.
