On Tuesday, June 21, the North Royalton Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution that would place a school bond issue on the November 8 ballot. This comes after two meetings on June 6 and June 9, where they discussed the recent community survey on the proposed facilities plan. “Our board is ready to move forward as we are all in agreement that this plan provides students with the resources needed to be competitive in a global economy, provides safety and security enhancements in all facilities, as well as provides an instructional focus on critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity,” said Jackie Arendt, President of the North Royalton Board of Education.
The bond issue is in the amount of $88,900,000 and, if passed, will build one new elementary school to replace the three existing buildings, renovate a portion, demolish and build new at a portion of the high school and renovate the middle school. Fall of 2019 would be the earliest the proposed new school and renovated High School and Middle School would be complete. The three buildings are expected to be done concurrently. The facilities plan is needed to prepare students to be competitive in higher education and/or the workforce. “Today’s classrooms no longer have rows of wooden desks but are more open, providing flexibility for individualized, small group, large group and hands-on learning,” said Melissa Vojta, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. “This plan has been researched, well thought out and carefully examined by numerous residents and experts. We as a board are unified in our decision and encourage every resident between now and November 8 to come together as well, to move in a positive direction that will take care of our facilities for a long time,” said Board of Education member Anne Reinkober.
“We thank the members of the Community Engagement Task Force who have given every resident of our school district the opportunity to express their opinions about how their school facilities are impacting teaching and learning and what they want the future to look like. We also thank those individuals who have brought their expertise in construction, facilities, and education to the discussions to guarantee that the plan proposed is the best solution for our students and community,” said Board of Education member Heidi Dolezal. “As a board, we all agree that we need to take action on our facilities issues and the plan developed by the Task Force, with the help of the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, is a plan that meets all of our needs,” said Board of Education member, Dr. John Kelly. “I commend the Task Force members and all of the residents who took the time to be a part of an unprecedented program of community conversation and collaboration to bring us to the place we are right now,” he said.
The total cost of the project will be $94,837,207, with $4,536,267 being supplied by the State of Ohio Facilities Construction Commission and $1,400,940 being supplied through local funding. The thirty-year bond issue would first be collected in January, 2017 and would be inclusive of the remaining bond issue that is presently be 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.”
If passed, the cost of the project will be $18.08 per month, for a $200,000 home value. “This is a single solution that will take care of our facility needs for generations, including a long-term plan for maintenance of those facilities, protecting our property values while still allowing us to keep our school tax base one of the lowest in the county,” said Board of Education member, Dr. Susan Clark.
North Royalton School Superintendent Greg Gurka noted that what is different with this bond issue is that the previous issues were facility-driven. “This is different,” he said. “This addresses what education looks like now and how it has changed, how it looks in the future and what do we need to support our students.”
Public informational meeting are being planned over the next several months, according to school officials. Information will also be supplied on the school district website www.northroyaltonsd.org. The link “Bond Issue Facts” will provide the most current information and meeting dates.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer