The Buckeye Valley Board of Education approved a motion to begin the process of placing a levy on the November ballot in order to build a new high school.
At the board’s May meeting, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Froehlich outlined the plan for a new high school that was approved by the board, the Facilities Advisory Committee, and members of the community last year. He said the district is aiming to build the 1,200-student high school in the location of the current bus depot.
Under the plan, the current high school would be converted to a middle school for seventh and eighth grade students, and Buckeye Valley Middle School would be converted to an intermediate school for fifth and sixth grade students.
The plan aims to deal with overcrowding at Buckeye Valley West and mitigate projected increases in enrollment.
Froehlich said the plan will “help us for the next 20 years, maybe longer” and said the high school has a capacity for 1,800 students with potential for expansion. In addition to “21st century learning spaces,” the new school would add several spaces to the district, including two additional gyms, a new auditorium, a new field house, a synthetic practice field behind the middle school and a wrestling room.
Froehlich said the projected cost for the new building is $105 million, and the theoretical levy would have an estimated millage of 4.59, which has an estimated cost of $160.65 per year per $100,000 of home valuation.
“Every year we do not get this passed is a year where this gets more expensive and (we have) more kids come,” Froehlich told the board at the May 15 meeting.
Board President Donald Dicke agreed and said “time is of the essence here.” Dicke said he’s excited by the thought of a new facility and is pleased that a levy was able to be proposed that brings the costs to $160 (per year) instead of a shorter levy with a much higher tax burden.
“(One hundred and sixty dollars per $100,000) is a lot more palatable for me as a taxpayer in the district but is still significant,” Dicke said.
The board approved a motion to move forward with the levy and to begin taking the steps to place the levy on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Dicke said the next step will be a first reading for the bond levy at the board’s June 20 meeting with a second reading at the July 10 meeting before sending the levy to the Delaware County Board of Elections in August.
Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.
