Akron Ohio News - School officials unveil building plan

Community News

School officials unveil building plan

1/14/2010 - South Side Leader

By Maria Lindsay

Springfield proposing new middle, high school building

LAKEMORE — A new school building may be built for middle and high school students in the Springfield Local Schools District.

District officials, including members of the Building Advisory Committee, which consists of school administrators and members of the community, presented preliminary details about the building to the public at a special meeting Jan. 7.

“We are at a crossroads in Springfield Schools,” said Springfield Superintendent Bill Stauffer. “Our students deserve this and the new building will be good for the local economy, with workers patronizing local businesses and paying income taxes to Lakemore.”

The building, which has yet to be designed, would be constructed on the site of the Springfield High School property on Canton and Sanitarium roads and contain almost 169,000 square feet for students in grades seven to 12. It would be less than the 288,540 square feet currently housing those students in two buildings, according to district officials.

The cost of the new building, estimated to be $42 million, would be paid for with 25 percent in funding assistance from the Ohio School Facilities Commission’s (OSFC) Exceptional Needs Facilities Assistance program, which amounts to about $8.3 million, and a bond issue for $33.7 million for the local share, according to district officials. [For more on that, see related article beginning on Page 8.]

The $33.7 million in local costs includes $8.5 million in unfunded mandates such as additional space for science, special education, business and marketing classrooms and a distance learning lab, as well as an auditorium, long-lasting floors, a pitched roof, additional athletic space and a community room to be used as an academic room during the day.

The football field would remain where it is without improvement, and administration officials may consider moving to an unused building in Lakemore.

According to district officials, the $33.7 million bond issue would appear as a 4.9-mill levy on the May 4 Primary Election ballot and include a 0.5-mill maintenance levy. If it passes, the bond issue would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $150 a year in new property taxes for 38 years, according to district officials.

Stauffer stated the new building would decrease utility costs for the district, increase academic opportunities for the students and use teachers more effectively.

“A new school would attract families to move to this community,” he added.

“There is not one single thing we can do that will affect this community more than a new school building,” said John Frola, a member of the Building Advisory Committee. “This building would be good for the community and for home values.”

Dave Hoffer, another member of the committee, explained the district decided to consider the construction project after the OSFC determined the cost to renovate the junior high (built in 1966) and high school (built in 1950) would be more than two-thirds the cost of new construction. The Central Administration Building, which also would be demolished to make room for the new building, was built in 1931.

“Students are more likely to prosper when their environment is conducive to learning — using electronic whiteboards, portable computers, networking and interactive video,” said Hoffer.

Steve Miller, an educational facilities planner from MKC Associates Inc., the architectural firm selected to design the new building, outlined the timeline for the project. He said construction on the new building could begin in late 2011 or early 2012, with a move-in date estimated for January 2013 if voters approve the bond issue in May. If it is not approved in May, it could appear on the August Special Election ballot, which would be the last time it could appear before voters before funding assistance from the state disappears, according to Miller.

Miller stated the need to begin the project in this cycle was important because the OSFC budget was cut significantly this year and may not exist in the future.

Stauffer added low interest rates and a good bidding climate due to the poor economy also indicate this is a good time for the project.

“We really have to take advantage of all this and build for the future,” said Jerry Williams, a Building Advisory Committee member.

About 75 area residents, including representatives from Lakemore Village Council and Springfield Township Board of Trustees, turned out to hear details about the project, which was a lower than expected turnout due to the snowstorm that evening.

Resident Jeff Hathaway asked officials to make sure the jobs generated by the project would be offered to local tradesmen.

“I want to see this project go forward for this community,” he added. “The economic impact on this community would be great.”

Resident Ken Bean spoke out against the proposed project, suggesting residents should ask state officials to use lottery money or take money spent on the jail population to build the new school.

“There are a lot of unemployed people in this community,” he added. “I don’t think the time is now as bad as the economy is.”

Miller responded that Springfield Local Schools did not choose the time for the project. Instead, the OSFC presented the district with funding assistance, and the community needs to decide whether to accept it.

District officials have until Feb. 18 to file a bond issue with the Summit County Board of Elections for the May ballot.

More Community News

Calendar of Events

...More Events