CH-UH School Board Presented With 3 More Facilities Options

Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board members heard three more ideas for the proposed facilities master plan at , May 24.

In all three new options, would be renovated first and the only school worked on in the first phase, and the district would use two bond issues to pay for the project instead of one. Construction would stop for about four years between the first and second phases.

In two options, there would be a primary school in University Heights.

The new plans would push the project’s completion date to 2029 instead of 2022 as .

The team of architects working on a comprehensive facilities plan for the district and administrators crafted the new ideas in response to concerns that the only , one bond issue was too much and Heights High should be renovated first.

Proposed options for the facilities master plan: 

Plan C as originally proposed April 18: Renovate Oxford, Canterbury and Roxboro elementary schools, Monticello, Wiley and Roxboro middle schools and demolish and rebuild Boulevard Elementary School in Phase I of the master plan. Renovate Heights High in the second phase. The elementary schools would serve pre-kindergarten through third grade and the middle schools would house fourth through eighth grades in all plans.

Cost: $193.7 million

Project completion date: 2019

Plan C revised and presented May 1 and 15: The first segment includes renovating Heights High, , and middle schools and creating swing space (classrooms outside of school buildings that house students during construction), and will cost more than $158 million. The first segment would be paid for with one bond issue. In Segment 2, would be rebuilt, and , and elementary schools would be renovated with a price tag of nearly $48 million paid for by certificates of participation and anticipated funding from the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission. The Delisle Center's District Network Operating Center would also recieve $1 million for an upgrade.

Cost: $206.2 million

Bond millage: 6.83 in 2012, 37-year term at a predicted 4.25 percent interest rate

Project completion date: 2022

Plan C-1: Heights High would be renovated first and paid for by a bond issue in 2012. Segment 2 would include renovating Roxboro, Monticello and Wiley intermediate schools and Roxboro, Canterbury and Oxford primary schools and rebuilding Boulevard. The hope is that a combination of a bond issue in 2019, certificates of participation and money from the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission would pay for the second phase in each of the new plans.

Cost: $214.6 million

Bond millage: 3.96 in 2012, 37-year term at 4.25 percent. 5.83 in 2019, 37-year term at a predicted 5.25 percent. If the district receives funding from certificates of participation and the OSFC, the 2019 millage will be reduced to 3.58.

Project completion date: 2029

Plan C-2: Same phasing and financing plan as C-1, but a primary school would be added to the plans. would be renovated and remain open. The district would house five primary schools instead of the proposed four.

Cost: $230.5 million

Bond millage: 3.96 in 2012, 37-year term at 4.25 percent. 6.6 in 2019, 37-year term at 5.25 percent. If the district receives funding from certificates of participation and the OSFC, the 2019 millage will be reduced to 4.32.

Project completion date: 2029

Plan C-3: Same phasing and financing plan as C-1, but the Wiley 4-8 program would move to the Canterbury Elementary School site, and a PK-3 program would be relocated to Wiley so there is a primary program in University Heights.

Cost: $230.5 million

Bond millage: 3.96 in 2012, 37-year term at 4.25 percent. 6.6 in 2019, 37-year term at 5.25 percent. If the district receives funding from certificates of participation and the OSFC, the 2019 millage will be reduced to 4.32.

Project completion date: 2029

That’s just the basics of the plans. Look for more details from the discussion soon and how much homeowners would pay annually in each of the millage possibilities above.

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