LUCAS — Voters in Cub Country will decide whether or not to pay for a new K-12 school building on May 3.
A 37-year, $27 million bond issue is on the ballot for the Lucas Local School District. The new property tax would be 9 mills, or $9 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.
A property’s taxable value is equal to 35 percent of its value as assessed by the county auditor. Thus, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay an estimated additional $315 annually if the issue is approved.
The proposed new building would include 23 academic classrooms, a 10,000 square-foot competition gym, a life skills lab, an agricultural education lab, two art rooms, an industrial tech classroom, a music room and a computer lab.
The total cost for the proposed new facility is $34 million. If the issue passes, the district is eligible for an $8 million match from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
The cost to renovate and maintain Lucas’ aging facilities would be about $31 million, according to estimates from architectural firm Garmann Miller.
According to the local levy committee, Lucas High School was built in 1918, with additions following in 1938 and 1958. The elementary school was built in 1956 and renovated in 1963. The middle school was constructed in 1979.
For more information, check out our previous coverage.
Other school districts, as well as one village, are asking voters to renew existing levies. These include:
— Madison Local School District — 6.9 mill renewal for current expenses — five years.
— Ontario Local School District — 10.2 mill renewal for avoiding operating deficit — 10 years.
— Plymouth Shiloh Local School District — 3.9 mill renewal for avoiding operating deficit — five years.
— South Central Local School District — renewal and increase to 2.5 mills for general improvements — five years.
— Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village School District Library — 0.8 mill renewal for current expenses — five years.
— Village of Plymouth — 1 mill renewal for maintaining and operating the village cemetery — five years.
