Roxboro Pilot Classroom Will Be Unveiled At CH-UH Board Meeting

In May, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board at and as part of the district's proposed facilities master plan.

One of those pilots will be unveiled at the special board meeting tonight, Aug. 21. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. at Roxboro Middle School. The primary focus of the agenda is the facilities discussion, but some time will be dedicated to showcasing the new space.

The final item on the agenda is the work session to discuss the next steps of the facilities master plan.

Superintendent Douglas Heuer announced at the regular meeting Aug. 7 that the Ohio School Facilities Commission accepted Plan C, the facilities master plan . The board also voted 4-1 to submit that plan to the OSFC.

The OSFC, which administers the state’s comprehensive K-12 public school construction program, also committed the state to pitching in approximately $22.8 million toward Plan C, or a revised version of it once the district moves forward with the project.

But the rest of the funding for the proposed $206.2 million plan has not been finalized. The on the November ballot that would have paid for a large portion of the plan.

The board could decide if it wants to lock in the funding rate that created the $22.8 million, or if it wants to gamble and see if the rate will be better next year. And to lock in that rate, the district would have to invest at least $1 million into the plan this school year.

“If the board would spend $1 million or in excess of a million dollars this year on any portion of the plan, that would enable the board to petition to the OSFC to lock in this percentage,” Heuer explained.  “…It’s almost impossible to predict where you may be from one year to the other.”

The $1 million must be spent on what the OSFC deems “co-fundable,” and does not include work on a high school stadium, auditorium or natatorium, said Steve Shergalis, business services director.

“Depending on where we go with this, I would work with the OSFC to see if the work we are doing this year at the high school and in the other two pilot programs would in fact qualify,” Shergalis said.

The full agenda has been included with this article. Look for highlights from the meeting soon.