Career center officials mull next steps after issue fails
Officials of the Warren County Career Center say they are continuing to gather information before making any decisions on next steps after the second failure of an election bond issue to expand its facility.
The latest bond issue was rejected by voters March 19 by a 52.4% to 47.6% ratio, according to final, unofficial results from the Warren County Board of Elections. The bond issue was rejected in the November 2023 general election by a vote of 51.6% against to 48.4% for.
The bond issue was part of a long-term plan to build a new secondary campus for the career center, expanding the capacity for the center to add more students and use the existing facility for adult education. Voters in 43 of the 134 precincts in the career center’s district approved the tax request, according to the Board of Elections unofficial tally that will be certified on April 9.
The WCCC board met Thursday to discuss the bond issue failure and is continuing to gather more information, said Superintendent Joel King.
“We need to step back and see what options we have at this point,” King said. “We need to find another way to admit more students. This is not what we hoped for.”
King said people have the opportunity to vote, and those decisions have to be respected.
He said the district needs additional information from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission about getting an extension to get a levy passed in order to receive state funding for the expansion project. The district had 13 months to get a bond issue passed, but a change in state law recently extended that to 16 months.
Had the bond issue been approved, the owner of a $100,000 property would have paid $28.63 per year. The two-part measure included a $67.3 million bond issuance, requiring a roughly 0.62-mill tax levy for 30 years, and a permanent 0.2-mill tax levy, which would raise about $1.3 million annually for maintenance.
The entire construction project would have cost about $88.9 million, as the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission — which provides state dollars to build qualifying new government buildings — would have provided $21.7 million, or about 24%, if voters had approved the local share via the new tax.
King said there is a need to increase knowledge and awareness of the Career Center. He said more than 800 students applied to attend the career center for the 2023-24 school year, but only 534 spots were available due to space restrictions.
Students from Springboro, Franklin, Waynesville, Lebanon, Fenwick, Kings and
Little Miami high schools attend the Warren County Career Center. Only voters in those school districts voted on the levy.
The new school building would have been built on the same land as the current WCCC, and the current building would have become an adult education facility.
The center offers 20 career academic programs currently offered for high school students, including pre-nursing, HVAC, veterinary science, fire science and EMS, criminal justice and automotive trades.
Seven adult programs are offered at WCCC, including dental hygienist, pharmacy technician, fire and emergency services, cosmetology and more.
The Greene County Career Center recently built a new campus, and the Miami Valley Career Technology Center in Montgomery County did a massive expansion of theirs, both after voters approved bond issues to help the schools increase capacity.