Charter school won’t open this year

However, upgrades will await students in some school districts

School districts across Lorain County are upgrading their facilities in preparation for the new school year.

However, a planned opening of a new charter school in Sheffield Village has been delayed, according to city officials.

Sheffield Village Mayor John Hunter said on Aug. 7 the planned opening of a new charter school in the former William S. Barr Elementary School building at 2180 Lake Breeze Road has been put on

hold until 2018.

After City Council gave unanimous approval for a conditional use permit in May following a recommendation from the city’s planning commission, Sterling Education notified city officials required upgrades to the building would delay the project for a year.

“They let me know this week, that they are no longer going to open this year,” Hunter said, adding “they said they were working on it and would make every effort to have it open. It’s another business, and I’m not concerned about it either way. In this case they couldn’t get it completed by the date”

The company has only had possession of the building for less than three months and Hunter stressed the project is moving forward and work is continuing to take place.

“There is no stoppage of the project, just a delay,” the mayor said. “I’m sure that they will move ahead with the building.”

The new school operated by Sterling Education was scheduled to begin classes on Aug. 15, with

plans to offer services for students in grades three through 12 before eventually expanding into a K-12 institution.

Avon Lake Schools

Meanwhile, since June 5, Avon Lake High School’s Memorial Stadium has been undergoing infrastructure upgrades as part of Avon Lake City Schools’ ongoing priority to improve district facilities.

The school is presently undergoing a $250,000 renovation project to the stadium which will replace the school’s 30-yearold athletic track in addition to beautifying the surrounding area.

“We’re getting there. We are a little behind schedule but that’s what happens,” said Superintendent Bob Scott.“Right now I was out there and they are actually putting the first coat on of the actual track. We are moving along well and it will be done before school.”

Scott added the district has been raising money for the project for the past two years and is looking to giving the track program new and improved facilities to enjoy.

The district is also nearly finished with the construction of a new

playground at Eastview Elementary School in an initiative spearheaded by the local PTA with some financial support from the district.

“It’s a great effort,” Scott said. “They raised the money and the school put in a bit of money.”

Avon Lake Schools are also in the process of completing a threephase renovation to the high school’s media center slated to be completed by next summer.

“We are re-doing it for the 21st century,” Scott said.

He said phase one of the project is near completion and includes two new teaching areas to allow for collaborative learning and the addition of 60 new Mac laptop computers to give students an opportunity to work in groups of eight to 10 and work on projects together, integrated with technology.

Phases two and three will include structural improvements to the media center and upgrades to furniture.

“We are very lucky here that we have a great maintenance group that keep our facilities looking great,” Scott said.

Amherst Schools

At Amherst Exempted Village Schools, students will pack into Powers Elementary and Nord Middle schools so the Harris building can be demolished to make way for a new elementary school.

Chuck Grimmett, director of buildings and grounds in the district, said projects are going well.

Extra effort was added to courtyards inside Marion L. Steele High School and Powers Elementary School, Grimmett said, and on Aug. 7, he focused on painting a soccer field at Amherst Junior High.

Earlier this summer, the Steele gymnasium was restored with high

gloss finish, he said.

“It hadn’t been refinished in quite a few years,” Grimmett said. “It had become scratched.”

Nord Middle School received attention in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, he said.

And crews are applying mulch to playgrounds at Nord and Powers schools. Also, playground equipment salvaged from the Harris building was installed at Nord, he said.

“We removed the railroad ties and added a kidfriendly plastic border at Nord,” Grimmett said.

A south parking lot at Steele was repaved, and in front of the high school the parking areas were re-striped, he said.

Also, a collapsed culvert in front of Powers was repaired, he said.

The new building approved by voters in November is in the development stage, Grimmett said. On Aug. 14 the school board should approve a contractor for the demolition, he said.

Elyria and Lorain Schools

At Elyria City Schools, a resolution Aug. 2 enabled contractors to go forward on site preparation of a sports complex and stadium at the Ely Stadium property.

The old stadium will remain standing for athletic events and graduations until the new stadium is ready for use.

Lorain City Schools opened a state-of-theart Lorain High School about a year ago. This year, however, the principals re-imagined how to wrap their arms around freshmen in such a large building.

They formed four teams of teachers, and divided the students with all freshman classes on the third floor of building B to provide a small school feeling within a large school.