Fort facing issue

FORT RECOVERY — Voters here will decide in November whether to build a new high school addition to the pre-kindergarten through grade eight building or to walk away from $5.52 million in promised state funding.
The Ohio School Facilities Commission was established several years ago with about $4.1 billion in “tobacco money.”
It directs those funds toward school construction projects, but it also sets strict guidelines on how schools are to be built and can require a local match from property taxes.
The current pre-kindergarten through grade eight building was an OSFC pilot project, with the state picking up most of the tab for its construction.
In the case of the high school — which includes wings dating from 1935, 1953, and 1960 along with Fort Site Fieldhouse — the Fort Recovery School board has been weighing options and proposals from the OSFC for at least five years.
Some of those proposals have been rejected in the past, but after months of review the board has decided the high school addition plan makes the most sense.
Under that plan:
•OSFC would provide $5.52 million.
•Local property taxes would provide $5.34 million.
•An addition of 47,000 square feet would be constructed on the east side of the current building, running parallel to the elementary and middle school wings.
•Fort Site Fieldhouse, the commons, and the current vocational agriculture area would be preserved. But the gym would be used for after-school events, not physical education classes. Vo-ag classes would be in the new addition, and the old space would be re-purposed, perhaps as a weight room or fitness center.
•Four classrooms in the elementary school wing would be re-purposed to create two science labs and two special education rooms.
•Two new elementary school classrooms would be added to the grade three through six wing.
•The current kitchen would be re-worked to handle larger student capacity.
•The 1935, 1953, and 1960 portions of the high school would be razed.
That last point bothers some because the building appears to be in good shape. It received a cosmetic upgrade when the pre-K to grade eight building was constructed.
“We fixed this thing up, and it looks pretty nice,” said superintendent Pat Niekamp. But the heating, plumbing, ventilation, and electrical systems are all in need of work.
“There are plenty of people who say, ‘If it’s good enough, leave it alone,’” said Niekamp. “But when you look at the numbers and look at the cost over time, it makes sense” to build the proposed addition.
The board took a long look at renovating the current high school building, but if OSFC dollars are accepted for renovation the work has to be done to OSFC standards, which would actually make it more expensive than building new.
Niekamp noted that the proposal would result in 20,000 fewer square feet than the school corporation currently has under roof due to the elimination of some classrooms. That would result in reduced heating and cooling costs. The new addition would also be built to higher energy efficiency standards.
The issue on the November ballot calls for a 4.4 mill levy to fund the local share of the construction cost. School corporation officials have estimated that would translate into an estimated cost per year of $134.75 on a home with a market value of $100,000.
A series of informational meetings will be held between now and November.
If approved by the voters, the project would be turned over to Garmann/Miller Architects and Engineers of Minster to develop plans.
“It would take most of a year to do the design work,” said Niekamp.
Construction would be likely to start early in 2012 with completion expected early in 2014 and the old buildings demolished later that year.[[In-content Ad]]