Pickerington millage sought for possible 3rd attempt at bond issue
Pickerington Schools could take a third shot in May at passing a bond issue to fund construction of a third junior high school and expansions to existing school buildings.
After much debate, the Pickerington Board of Education voted 3-2 on Dec. 6 to ask the Fairfield County Auditor's Office to estimate milllage for a possible bond issue. It would be the district's third try since November 2020.
The action doesn't mean the district will place a bond issue on the May 3 ballot. Board members are expected to make that decision after the auditor's office estimates the millage and certifies home valuations within district boundaries.
However, it is the first step required if the board should move forward with a ballot issue this spring.
Treasurer Ryan Jenkins said any bond issue put before voters likely would be for less than the 2.9 mills the district unsuccessfully sought in November 2020 and May 2021. That's because local home valuations are going up, he said, meaning a lower millage would be needed to collect the sum the district could request.
Jenkins said officials are looking into the possibility of requesting less than the $95 million sought in its past two attempts.
The district would be able to request less money from a bond issue by removing items from its list of planned facilities upgrades.
“That ($95 million) is an upper limit,” he said. “If the projects you amass are only going to total $80 (million), then you would only issue $80 (million).”
The past two requests would have generated up to $95 million over a period of up to 38 years. That amount was decided on after a study by Cooperative Strategies during the 2018-19 school year projected district enrollment would rise from 10,600 to 12,400 students by the 2028-29 school year.
Each of those bond issues would have cost homeowners $101.50 annually per $100,000 of home value, according to Jenkins.
The board decided June 28 not to pursue a bond issue the November 2021 ballot.
However, district officials maintain that classroom space in Pickerington schools already is maxed out and capacity issues will continue to worsen without building a third junior high and adding classrooms at existing buildings.
Board President Clay Lopez and board member Vanessa Niekamp opposed asking voters for a third time to pass the bond issue.
“My concern is that we've done this twice. We've heard from our community twice that this isn't the right package to put out,” Lopez said.
Others, including board member Lori Sanders and Vice President Keith Kristoff, said the district needs to continue to seek a bond issue because enrollment growth will continue. In the meantime, they said, construction costs are increasing and it will take more than two years to build a third junior high once funding is secured.
“If we just let it die, we've let it die for seven months,” Kristoff said. “It's got to come some way, somewhere, somehow. I don't want to send the message to the community that it's not an immediate need. I think it's an immediate need.”
Jenkins said public engagement meetings will be held where officials will provide detailed information about the district's growth projections and needs.
The first such event was scheduled for Dec. 13.
Crystal Davis, public-relations director for the district, said additional events will take place in early January and throughout the following months.
Jenkins also said district officials will consider what projects can be removed to reduce the cost of the bond issue.
Among the items already identified are the construction of secure vestibules at Pickerington High School North and Pickerington High School Central. Rather than fund those projects with bond money, the district intends to use federal assistance received as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to pay for the security upgrades.
Board members and district administrators also are exploring the possibility of removing projects to upgrade some athletics facilities at the high schools from the bond package.
However, Jenkins said athletics projects represent just 5% to 7% of the total $95 million bond package.