Arlington, New Albany approve school funding
Upper Arlington, New Albany-Plain among those winning funding measures
Taxpayers in the Upper Arlington and New Albany school districts will be paying more to support schoolchildren, as voters Tuesday approved funding issues for those districts. The money in Upper Arlington will help replace the high school and three elementary schools, while the funding in New Albany will support building maintenance, Reporter Shannon Gilchrist writes.
Upper Arlington residents have agreed to pay to replace their aging high school and three elementary schools, and substantially renovate two other elementaries.
At the same time, residents who live in the New Albany-Plain Local School District approved extra funding to do needed maintenance on the school buildings, some of which are topping 20 years old.
They are among voters in six out of nine central Ohio school districts who passed school issues Tuesday.
The Upper Arlington measure, asking residents for about $312 a year per $100,000 of home value for a combined permanent operating levy and a $230 million bond issue over 38
years, was passing 56 percent to 44 percent Tuesday night, with 99 percent of the votes counted.
Superintendent Paul Imhoff said the mood was celebratory in the Upper Arlington High School cafeteria, where supporters gathered to watch the results.
“The Board of Education told us to gather community feedback in every way that we could ... and then to do what the community said,” Imhoff said. “This plan is definitely the community’s plan, and the community overwhelmingly supported it.
“It’s our centennial in 2018. ... Our future is going to be bright.”
In 2014, architects estimated that to repair and maintain all nine buildings in the Upper Arlington district would cost about $188 million over the next 15 years. The 61-year-old high school in particular is showing its age, with major plumbing and electrical problems and smaller-than-standard classroom sizes.
Opinion polls over the past two years showed that residents preferred to rebuild the high school at an estimated cost of $142.1 million and three elementary schools: Greensview ($22.6 million), Wickliffe ($23.8 million) and Windermere ($22.2 million). The plan calls for the district to renovate two others: Tremont ($14.9 million) and Barrington ($31 million).
The district also will fix drainage problems on its land, and install athletic facilities behind Tremont Elementary School.
With spending approval in place, the buildings will need to be designed, a process that will take about 12 to 15 months, Imhoff said. The district will be seeking the same level of community involvement as before.
It was a lower-key win for the New Albany-Plain schools, but a solid win. Voters approved by 64 percent to 36 percent (99 percent reporting) a fiveyear levy for big projects such as bus purchases and new boilers and roofs. The district will raise $1.2 million annually for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 home less than $48 per year.
“We’re incredibly humbled by our community, that they’ve shown support for the work we’re doing in the district,” said New AlbanyPlain schools spokesman Patrick Gallaway.The total cost of all needed repairs is $12.7 million, and the district will spend $6.9 million out of the general fund along with the levy money.
The first thing to happen will be roofing for the high school, Gallaway said. The full plans are outlined on the district’s website.