SHELBY — After three failed levy attempts, the Shelby City School District will no longer attempt to build a new, pre-kindergarten through eighth grade building.
The Shelby Board of Education announced at its Monday meeting the district would not go back on the ballot with a bond issue to construct a new school. The latest attempt to pass the bond issue on Nov. 6 failed for a third time with 54.39 percent of voters against the levy, according to the Richland County Board of Elections.
“For $10 million, this community could’ve invested in the future for generations to come, but now we will spend more money to restore 70-year-old buildings and we still haven’t solved our issues,” said Supt. Tim Tarvin.
The biggest factor affecting the district’s decision was the fact matching funds from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) are no longer available. Board President Lorie White said that’s because 20 other school districts in Ohio passed levies.
“We’ve definitely lost our place in line, just as we’d feared,” White said. “The window of opportunity for Shelby to receive matching funds from the state has closed, certainly for the immediate future, and quite possibly for a much longer period of time.”
White addressed rumors in the community of Shelby that building a pre-kindergarten through fourth grade building and leaving the middle school as-is would be a viable option. According to White, the OFCC informed the district that the cost to build a PreK – 4th grade building would be $10 million more than a PreK – 8th grade building.
White also addressed rumors that the most recent proposal to use Rover Pipeline money toward retiring the bond levy was only for a couple years. She clarified the district would have used pipeline money towards the bond issue for entire duration of time the district would have received that money.
“It’s a moot point now, but at this time the district still has not been informed by state or county officials regarding how much money the district will receive in Rover Pipeline money,” White said. “When that information is shared with the district, we will begin assessing what the best financial options are for addressing the district’s long-term facility needs.”
Former board president Bruce Briggs suggested during public comment that the district use more of its permanent improvement money towards building repairs.
“I remember 15 or 20 years ago bringing a small bag full of brick falling from Auburn (Elementary) to a board meeting,” Briggs said. “That’s how long this problem has been going on. We keep kicking the can for one reason or another.”
Tarvin said the district was willing to commit $6.6 million toward a new building, and would be willing to commit $6.6 million to improvement projects such as new roofs, new windows, air conditioning, or modular buildings. However, with that funding comes a caveat.
“The downside is once we start pouring money into this, there’s no turning back,” Tarvin said. “We’re going to be in Auburn, Dowds and the middle school for the foreseeable future. It doesn’t solve the fact that your’e still in a 70-year-old building with old bones and rotting pipes.”
Scott Harvey, director of building maintenance, grounds, and safety, reported Monday that $480,000 was invested last year for larger improvements and maintenance work throughout the district. He also reported updated HVAC controllers allowed the district to save 12 percent on utilities costs.
White noted that 18 months ago, Harvey came to the board saying a number of major improvement projects throughout the district would cost at least $5 million. It was at that time White suggested asking the community for support to build all-new facilities.
“There’s this notion that people have been throwing out there over the last 18 months about us intentionally letting the buildings deteriorate to force their hand. Nothing could be further from the truth,” White said.
“It didn’t make sense to spend that kind of money if the community would support upgrading all our facilities for our kids. We all know now that’s our only option,” White said.
