The tentative location for the new high school would be the area of the current bus garage (pictured here) as well as the current central office and practice field.
Glenn Battishill | The Gazette
The Buckeye Valley Board of Education on Oct. 26 discussed the process to put a tax levy on the November 2024 ballot in order to counter growth in the district by building a new high school.
The tentative plan was discussed during the September board meeting and involves building a new 1,200-capacity high school on the same campus as Buckeye Valley High School and Middle School and then transitioning the current high school into a middle school while the current middle school is converted to an intermediate school for fifth and sixth graders.
The plan was one of several presented to the board from the Facilities Advisory Committee, and Superintendent Paul Craft said it would give the district “the best chance for that 10- to 15-year time frame of making sure we have the capacity.” He added the plan has advantages of flexibility and long-term educational benefits.
The tentative location for the new high school would be the area of the current bus garage, central office and practice field, all of which would be relocated.
Board President Donald Dicke said he had seen community feedback to the proposals, and it was “very obvious” that the plan for a new high school had the most support from the community.
Dicke said waiting until the November 2024 ballot was the “right time.”
“We don’t want to rush it,” he said. “We want to make sure it’s done properly.”
Craft said the next steps for the process are to work with the Facilities Advisory Committee to select a pre-levy architect and have the architect submit their plans by early February, which would give the board time to look at the plan and make adjustments. Craft said the Delaware County auditor would then be able to tell them the required millage, and by April and May, the board would give notice to the auditor and the Delaware County Board of Elections that the district plans to place a levy on the November ballot.
“(That gives us) summer and fall to tell our story and get in front of every group that will sit down long enough to see my PowerPoint,” Craft said about promoting the levy.
Though no formal action was taken, Dicke approved of the idea and timeline.
“I think we’re headed down a good direction there,” Dicke said.
The board will meet next on Nov. 15.
Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.
