Board: Building project on ballot

CELINA - School board members on Monday night agreed to press ahead with putting a building project on the May 4 primary election ballot.

By informally agreeing to pursuing a primary election ballot issue, Garman/Miller Architects-Engineers can cement details with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.

"We have a short window of time to iron out the final details and the final pricing and millage and get you that information to allow you to make a final decision," Garman/Miller CEO Eric Baltzell told board members at Monday's regular meeting.

Members must pass legislation to submit the necessary paperwork to the county auditor by Jan. 22 and the county board of elections by Feb. 3, per Baltzell's timeline.

A combined bond issue and tax levy to build new schools fell just short of passing in April. Voters cast 2,241 votes against and 2,065 in support of the issue.

Board members had originally planned another try yet this year. However, at a May special meeting, they voted against seeking approval of that plan on a potential Aug. 4 special election ballot.

They vowed to revisit the issue to get a better read on the COVID-19 pandemic's status and impact on the local economy before considering another attempt.

Board member Craig Flack on Monday was the first to support placing an initiative before voters in May, saying it's time for a better learning environment.

"I don't think our facilities represent the best of what Celina can do," he said, pointing out his daughter, a second-grader, attends the same building that 70-year-olds at his church attended when they were students.

"And when someone (the state) offers to pick up 50% of the bill, I think that's an offer you have to look at seriously, and also recognize that this is not going to go away," Flack continued.

The district is in an excellent position to seek a building project, and costs will continue to climb the longer officials hold off, he argued.

"We are going to have public schools. The facilities will only get older," he said. "We literally have no more debt on the books. There's no more bonds on the books. We paid off all debt."

Board president Bill Sell agreed, adding he believes investing in district children is a necessity, not a mere want.

Board member Barbara Vorhees also supported a building project.

"I think everybody knows that my philosophy has always been the school should be the center of the community, bottom line," she said. "And this community needs better schools to become a better community. It's a package deal."

Officials will decide whether to pursue the same master plan as presented to voters earlier this year. If so, costs are expected to rise 11% due to inflation and increased enrollment projections, Baltzell said.

But their local share would be reduced from 56% to 54%, he pointed out.

They also have the option to go with a segmented plan that would be completed in phases.

Last time, district officials backed a combined bond issue and tax levy. A roughly $69.25 million bond issue and a 0.5-mill levy for the proposed building project were presented as one issue.

The 7.4-mill bond issue would have funded construction of a 182,122-square-foot middle/high school and renovation of the intermediate school to house preschool-sixth grade. The 0.5-mill property tax levy would have covered future maintenance costs for the buildings.

If passed, the bond would have collected $3.243 million annually over a maximum of 38 years.

The 0.5-mill levy would have collected $221,617 per year over 23 years. The OFCC requires the levy to ensure enough income to operate and maintain the buildings after they are built, superintendent Ken Schmiesing has said.

The OFCC would have funded $34.9 million of the estimated $79.3 million cost, with the remaining costs covered by the local bond issue. This does not include locally funded initiatives, which would have increased the local share to nearly $69.25 million.

Based on community input, LFIs that could be included were extra classroom space and renovations to the 1998 high school library addition to house Mercer County Head Start and office space and converting the 1984 Tri Star Career Compact addition at the high school into bus storage space.

Baltzell estimates the full master plan project today would require a local share of $78.6 million, a figure that includes $22.8 million in locally funded initiatives. That would require a 7.5-mill bond that would cost the owner of a $100,000 home roughly $255 annually.