School districts build for future

Projects approved by voters progress to early construction

While students are preparing for the end of summer and return to the classroom, Lorain County school districts have worked on projects to improve infrastructure and other aspects of education.

Elyria

Elyria City Schools is underway with its nearly $140 million five-school master plan project.

The district’s master plan, which was approved in May, will add five schools to the district over the next three years.

The plan was funded in partnership with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission footing $87 million. The five schools: • Ely Elementary School, a K-4 elementary school at the current site of Ely Elementary School

• McKinley Elementary School, a K-4 elementary school at the present site of Hamilton School on Middle Avenue

• Eastern Heights Campus, a K-8 campus at the current site of Eastern heights Middle School

• Northwood Campus, a pre-K-8 campus at the current site of Pioneer Field on Abbe Road

• Westwood Campus, a K-8 campus at the current site of the Administration Center in Elyria Township

Both the Northwood Campus and Ely Elementary sites currently are underway.

Jacob Carmany, director of business services for Elyria Schools, said Northwood is about done with its ground, or “dirt work,” which includes the ringroad and building pads of the school’s layout and retention ponds.

In the next two weeks, construction crews will do underground electricity work.

At the Ely location, workers soon will begin taking down trees on the site to perform work around the current school.

Carmany said the original school still will be in session while workers perform the work.

Construction on both schools should be complete by summer 2020.

The schools will have ground breaking ceremonies by late 2018 into 2019, Carmany said.

“All buildings will be complete within the next three years, which is very, very exciting,” said Elyria Schools Superintendent Thomas Jama. “We’ll also be looking at ways to get our kids to school.

“So, it’s going to be pretty exciting times over the next three to four years in Elyria City Schools.”

The district also will unveil a new $14 million athletic facility that will house the district’s athletics, band and outdoor activities.

The new stadium is expected to open the third week of August, just in time for the beginning of the high school football season.

Eventually, softball will be played at the facility.

Jama said the developments at Elyria Schools will enable the district to transform toward a hands-on 21st century learning community.

Oberlin

David Hall, superintendent of Oberlin City Schools, said the district is creating a pre-K through 12 facility.

It will occur in two phases, Hall said.

The first phase is a pre-k through 5 section, then will follow with phase two with a section for grades 6-12.

The district is in the early stages and still does not have funding for the schools yet, Hall said.

Oberlin residents will vote on funding the project in November.

If voters approve, the district will hit the ground running and begin the first phase in the fall of 2018, Hall said.

The school district has to involve the community to design the school, he said.

Many of the staffers have to travel from one school to another for certain programs or classes between their four schools in the district, Hall said.

The new schools will be more efficient and cost saving for the district, he said.

“This will be easier for our staff and better for our students,” Hall said. “We have many schools in the county with new facilities that can move our students forward. This new school will allow more possibilities with STEM and open learning environments that can create 21st century learning.”

Amherst

Construction is underway for Amherst Exempted Village Schools’ new Powers Elementary.

Michael Molnar, the district’s assistant superintendent, said the school is projected to be ready for fall 2019.

“The construction crew is working at the 393 S. Lake St., site to get the lot ready for the new building,” Molnar said. “Everything is on schedule and we look forward to what the new building will provide for our educators and students.”

Aaron Rodenbaugh, architect for the project from the GPD Group, said the new school is approximately 120,000 square feet.

“The building, aside from being an elementary, will also contain the Amherst Schools Board Office,” Rodenbaugh said. “It will also be equipped with all the latest education technologies.

“The rooms will be re-arrangeable for a more adaptable collaborative space. The school will really be optimized to benefit the kids.”

Amherst Schools Superintendent Steve Sayers, whose contract recently was extended through the 2021-22 school year, said the new school building will give the district options.

“It is great that we will be getting the new building,” Sayers said. “But beyond that, we have some room where Powers currently stands (401 Washington St.) to do some things.

“We would like to make more parking over there for high schoolers and home games for high school sports. We are also entertaining the idea of adding practice fields and or basketball courts.

“We also have our bus garage there and could increase the size of that; we currently can’t fit all school buses in the garage. There are a lot of things we are looking to do, so it will be an exciting time not only for the new school, but the old site as well.”

Avon Lake

Avon Lake City Schools could have a new look moving forward with a complete re-organization of the district’s four elementary schools presently under consideration by the Board of Education.

The Building Excellent Schools Team, a committee made up of staff, parents, teachers, administrators and Board of Education members have worked throughout 2018 in designing a transition plan to reflect changing demographic and population trends in Avon Lake.

Following months of research and discussion, the committee settled on a recommendation to emphasize neighborhood schools and redraw district lines.

The committee made a formal presentation and recommendation to the Board of Education on June 12.

Key components of the plan include:

• Redrawing district lines to indicate which streets will be designated as enrollment areas for each school.

• Projected growth and numbers to reflect a more balanced enrollment that will drive the designated lines. New maps will be provided once those lines are determined.

• Students will not be grandfathered in based on current placements and students will be placed based on the new designations.

• District lines will be reviewed every three to five years with the projected growth for the foreseeable future.

If approved by the Board of Education, the plan will take effect in the 2019-2020 school year.

In February, Avon Lake Schools Superintendent Bob Scott said the discussion was about examining how the district allocates its assets in managing student-teacher ratios and finding the best ways to support students academically, emotionally and socially as the district continues to grow.

The committee also considered proposals that would have separated grade levels among the different buildings, but determined the logistical complications and increased financial burden due to transportation would have been too much to overcome.

Scott also said the district has worked on upgrades to the Learwood Middle School auditorium with new seats, carpet and paint along with surface upgrades to the Avon Lake High School tennis courts.

Vermilion

Vermilion Local Schools officials are examining future partnerships and are aiming to place a security levy on the November ballot.

Coming off a $20 million district consolidation plan which moved all buildings to a single campus,

Vermilion Schools are in the process of examining a partnership with Mercy Health for occupational and physical therapy, nursing and athletic training.

On June 27, Vermilion Schools Superintendent Phil Pempin said the district had worked on the potential partnership with Mercy Health for three to four months prior and it would represent a cost savings of $30,000 annually.

“It’s a question of always looking at our financial bottom line, and that’s not all it is though,” Pempin said. “You don’t want to just look at that period, and you want to be able to see, can you potentially work with an outside entity and to see whether there are other things down the line that Mercy might be able to do with us like academics and possibilities of partnering with our students and possibly doing some things on our campus?”

Vermilion Schools Board of Education also is considering placing a security levy on the ballot for consideration by voters.

If approved, the district would raise $300,000 for the purchase of new security cameras and the hiring of an additional school resource officer.

The proposal comes on the heels of the wave of school shootings and a March 4 community safety forum on ways to improve school security.