School Board Considers Restructuring Plan Tonight

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board will discuss and could vote tonight on a plan long in the making that could result in school closures and a levy vote this fall.

The CH-UH Lay Facilities Committee made their final recommendation for reconfiguring the district's schools earlier this month.

The committee, created by the CH-UH School Board at the recommendation of FutureHeights and Reaching Heights, was tasked with examining the facilities master plan and determining what aspects of the plan the community would support.

The committee's recommendation calls for closing Noble and Fairfax elementary schools and Wiley Middle School.

Boulevard Elementary School would be rebuilt. The four remaining elementary schools, the two remaining middle schools and the high school would be renovated.

Click here to see the committee's presentation.

According to the committee report, the $234.4 million project would take place in two phases: Phase 1 would include the high school and middle school renovations, and Phase 2 — beginning years in the future — would include the elementary school renovations.

The committee has recommended that the Board ask for a $137.5 million capital improvement tax levy at the November 2013 election and seek about $18 million in private donations and a loan for the first phase of the project.

The tax levy would be for about 6.46 mills, or about $198 annually for the owner of a home with a $100,000 tax value.

The committee wrote that the eight-school configuration would balance the needs of the community for walkable schools for kids with the cost for the taxpayer, and allow for arts, sports and extracurriculars.

Cleveland Heights Patch has covered this story from the beginning. To see all of the articles we've done, check out our topic page on the issue.