The bond issue New Philadelphia school district voters rejected last month is going back onto the ballot in the spring.
Superintendent Amy Wentworth says the need to consolidate and replace the district’s aging buildings – which average 70-years-old and no longer meet modern safety standards – isn’t going away.
“Almost every week there is another major expense we weren’t anticipating. We are trying to be as creative and fiscally responsible as we can but it’s getting very challenging to have the permanent improvement dollars to fix all these needs.”
The school system is seeking 72-million dollars over 37 years to build a new pre-k through sixth-grade facility on the south school property and one for older students a few years later at a site yet to be determined.
Wentworth says they remain committed to involving school families and other stakeholders, who are invited to a community meeting tentatively planned for January 16th.
The district has to pay for the first building upfront but is eligible for a 56-percent state funding match as a credit that will pay for the second. However, Wentworth says the offer only stands for so long. The state share will be recalculated in the fall and will likely decrease.
“You combine that with the fact that costs continue to increase, really this is our last chance to pass it at the same funding level and at the same cost basis.”
The school board last week passed the first of three resolutions necessary to put the funding request on the May 6th primary ballot.
The cost increase to taxpayers is the same as before at just over 20-bucks monthly for every hundred-thousand-dollars of property value.
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