Troy board to seek bond issue for schools
Initial steps taken for $47.9 million request to be placed on ballot.
The Troy City Schools TROY — Board of Education took the initial steps needed to place before voters a bond issue to build new elementary schools.
The board voted Thursday to ask the Miami County auditor to certify the millage amount for a bond issue to generate $47.9 million to build the new schools and make improvements to Troy High School. The bond issue would be for 30 years.
The second step, to ask the county board of elections to place the bond issue on the November ballot, will be taken at the board’s July 10 meeting, district Treasurer Jeff Price said.
The board heard a final presentation on public input meetings earlier in June by consultants from SHP Leading Design. The firm was hired last year to help the board explore building options and obtain community input. That process included three community meetings exploring building options this spring.
After the community meetings, the board in May reached consensus for constructing two new elementary buildings with wings for prekindergarten through grade
two and third through sixth grades as opposed to four new buildings.
The final configuration of those buildings, whether they would be in one or two locations and where those locations would be remains to be to determined.
“We are working some different options, but nothing rock solid yet,” Superintendent Eric Herman said Thursday of possible sites.
The district now has six elementary schools, a sixthgrade building, a junior high and a high school. The Van Cleve sixth-grade building is more than 100 years old. The newest elementary school building is 50 years old. The high school was built in 1958.
The district is working with the Ohio School Facilities Commission on building plans. The district is eligible for 33 percent state building construction funding.
The estimated cost of the project is $63.3 million, with the local share of $47.9 million. The current estimates show the elementary building local costs at $42.4 million. The balance would be for updates at the high school. Possible high school projects include boilers and air conditioning in some parts of the building, Herman said.