On May 2, voters approved Issue 11, a 30-year, 4.9 mill bond issue in the amount of $88,900,000. With the passage of the issue, the North Royalton School District will build one new elementary school to replace the three existing buildings, renovate a portion, demolish and build new a portion of the high school and renovate the middle school. According to the recent tally from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, voters passed the bond issue 59.3% to 40.7%, with 6,086 for the measure and 4,185 voting against. This was the sixth time the District had a bond issue on the ballot.
In a letter to the voters, North Royalton School Superintendent, Greg Gurka wrote, “Issue 11 will allow us to bring our buildings to today’s educational standards in a comprehensive way. We thank our levy chairs and hundreds of volunteers for their countless hours of work to help educate residents of our need. The passage of Issue 11 will have a lasting influence on the quality of our schools and the health of our community!”
North Royalton School Board President Susan Clark thanked the voters for supporting Issue 11. “The foundation for the collective future as we prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s world. Your approval of Issue 11 ensures that we are able to educate generations of children in an appropriate learning environment, “ she said. “Thank you to all the parents and others who worked so hard to find our supporters and to get them to the polls,” said School Board Vice President, John Kelly. “This plan will resolve facilities issues that have plagued the District for over 10 years. It is nice to have a long-term plan and a resolution that will last for decades. I look forward to the new narrative of the construction process and the fine details of the renovations. There is a lot of work to be done but the Board and Administration have already begun doing our homework getting things moving.”
With the passage of the bond issue, program and service cuts will no longer have to be made, including some transportation, athletics, courses and staff, as well as an increase in class sizes. Some items, such as security systems, plumbing, lighting and asphalt/concrete replacement cuts will no longer be necessary.
With the passage of the bond issue, construction of the proposed new elementary school and renovated high school and middle school is expected to begin in the summer of 2018 and be completed in 2019-20. The three buildings are expected to be done concurrently. The cost of the project to the homeowner will be $9.04 per month, for each $100,000 of home valuation.
The thirty-year bond issue will first be collected in January, 2018 and will be inclusive of the remaining bond issue that is presently being collected for the Middle School. “With the middle school bonds set to expire in 2018, the Board is asking the community to continue the middle school bond support and add an additional 3.1 mills, which includes a .5 mill continuing permanent improvement maintenance fund dedicated to protect the community’s investment. The total millage of this request is 4.9 mills for a 30-year bond issue,” said Biagio Sidoti, North Royalton City Schools Treasurer. “However when you subtract the 1.8 mill currently being assessed by the middle school bond, the net increase is 3.1 mills to the residents.”
The Brecksville-Broadview Heights School District 5.99-mill levy also passed 51.9% to 48.1%, with 2,907 voting for the levy and 2,697 voting against.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer