GRANDVIEW

Good For Grandview says it wants to work with school officials before decisions are irreversible. But some say they’re jumping the gun, or imputing dark motives and conspiracies where there aren’t any.

“We are not the opposition,” said resident Katie O’Shea, a Good For Grandview organizer at a meeting it held Tuesday night.

“Every one of us is a supporter of the district,” said Kathy Lithgow, an organizer and former president of the Grandview Heights Board of Education. “We are pro- levy.”

Just maybe not a levy this costly, they say. Superintendent Andy Culp recommended at the Sept. 19 board meeting that the district renovate the high school and elementary school while constructing a building for students in grades 4- 8 on the existing site of Edison Intermediate/ Larson Middle School.

“We are trying to work within the existing process ...,” O’Shea continued. “We’re not trying to create a secondary process.”

The Good For Grandview effort is especially notable in light of the fact that a neighboring district, Upper Arlington schools, passed a giant ballot issue in November using a very similar process and timeline. It soon will build a new high school and three elementary schools and substantially renovate other buildings. The Upper Arlington bond issue was worth $230 million over 38 years, and the permanent operating levy raises $6.5 million per year, raising the annual tax bill $312 for every $100,000 of home valuation. The average Upper Arlington home is worth $400,000.

Some opposition to the Upper Arlington issue emerged late in the game, near the election, but it didn’t have the reach or the organization of Good For Grandview.

On Tuesday night in the lower level of Grandview Heights Public Library, nearly two dozen people sat scattered around the meeting room. About half of them raised their hands when asked how many had attended past meetings.

Rick Kinsinger, a 10-year resident and a professional engineer, gave a presentation about two facilities reports commissioned by the district: one in August 2015 that called for $5.5 million in building fixes and another in August 2016 calling for $44.4 million.

“Part of my discomfort with the way this was presented is that this $44 million is continually called deferred maintenance,” Kinsinger said, when it’s more than that.

The group suggested that surveys and meeting feedback collected by the district don’t accurately capture how the community feels.

Ron Cameron, who served on the school board from 2000-07 with Lithgow, sat in the front row. He was drawn there, he said, by curiosity.

Cameron questioned why they were doing this now, when they don’t have all the final details.

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to do, is to influence it before it gets to the point where they’re making decisions,” O’Shea said.

“Ron, you and I both worked on levies. You know how hard it is to pass them,” Lithgow said. “If people suspect they’re not getting a good bargain, they’re not going to vote for it.”

Marble Cliff resident Michael F. Curtin, former Dispatch associate publisher who serves on the district’s financial advisory committee, attended the group’s first meeting and said its goal of an affordable ballot issue that can pass on Election Day makes sense. Everyone agrees on the fact that the buildings are old and need work.

The trouble is, Good For Grandview has “not suggested what ‘ affordable’ is,” Curtin said. He said someone at that meeting tried to pin them down on what plan they would like to see, and the response was they didn’t have the expertise to say.

“They are questioning the legitimacy of the process, which frustrates the superintendent,” Curtin said. The group “has said openly that they believe that the superintendent has manufactured the process to get the outcome he wanted. It’s unfortunate that this scenario has been created.”

“I think we’ve done everything with a lot of transparency, a lot of integrity,” said board President Jesse Truett.

Sometimes, he said, the cheapest option is not the one that is the most affordable 10 or 20 years down the road.

And compared with similar districts that have addressed their facilities in recent years, Truett said, “$ 44 million is not an overblown, Taj Mahal kind of number.” This list is compiled from voluntary submissions by parents to hospitals. Sheila/ boy, Feb. 25 Jessica and Travis: girl, Feb. 25

Ashly/ Feb. 26 Emalee/ Feb. 28, girl Shanna/ girl, Feb. 24 Lanelle:

Caleb: boy, Feb. 26 Julie and David: girl, Feb. 23 Angela/ Archie: girl, Feb. 26 JoAysa/ girl, Feb. 27 Larecia and Cody: boy, Joseph:

Justin: Shawn: The American Red Cross has a constant need for donors of all blood types, especially type O negative. Donors can call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or go to redcrossblood.org to schedule an appointment. Walk-in donors also are welcome. Blood drives are open today at:

19 S. High St., Canal Winchester, 1-7 p.m. 4820 Sawmill Road, 12:15 p.m.-6:45 p.m. 4772 Cemetery Road, Hilliard, noon- 6 p.m. 2400 Olentangy River Road, noon-5 p.m. 1827 Neil Avenue Mall, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

1327 Cameron Ave., Lewis Center, 12:15 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

3220 Columbus St., Grove City, noon-5 p.m. 337 Stoneridge Lane, Gahanna, 12:15 p.m.-7:15 p.m. 4327