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GM Schools seek community input about future of school buildings
(by Rick Palsgrove, Southeast Editor - March 01, 2010)
The citizens of the Groveport Madison School District will get the chance to have their say at two upcoming community meetings regarding the future of the district's school buildings.
The meetings will be from 6-8 p.m. in the Groveport Madison High School cafeteria, 4475 S. Hamilton Road, on March 11 and April 15. Citizens are invited to attend to participate and offer their input on the district's master facilities plan (MFP) process. Attendees will receive information about the conditions and sizes of the district's buildings, sites, finances, and enrollment projections. Citizens will also complete a questionnaire to provide feedback to the district about what they desire regarding the buildings.
"Most of Groveport Madison's buildings were built in the '60s and '70s," said Superintendent Scott McKenzie. "They have served our students and our greater community well for decades. But each day they get a little older and a little more worn. They are never going to be as young as they are today, and so we must ask ourselves how much longer can we go without making major renovations to them or even replacing them."
Depending on the results of the MFP process and input garnered from the community public forums, the district may possibly seek to place a bond issue on this November's ballot that could fund: the renovation of buildings, the construction of new buildings, or both.
McKenzie said funding from the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) is available right now for the district to use for buildings. If the school board decides to pursue OSFC funding for building projects, the district's local funding share would be 57 percent of the total building or renovation costs while the OSFC would contribute 43 percent. OSFC funds cannot be used to purchase land.
"We've seen many of our neighboring districts utilize the OSFC to improve the instructional facilities for their children," said McKenzie. "If we don't tap this resource soon, one can only guess how much longer this money may be available from the state."
Speaking at the MFP steering committee meeting on Feb. 25, Chuck Warner, who is an architect and educational planner with Warner Concepts LLC, asked, "Should we put money in existing aging buildings or build new? We have to ask the community what they would like."
On Feb. 25, resident Christine Boucher and Pastor Steve Bulen of Kingdom Life Christian Center in Groveport were named co-chairs of the MFP steering committee.
Bulen told the committee they may come up against some "negative thoughts" from the community during the MFP process, but that they can "combat that by simply respecting with our words."
Groveport Madison Board of Education member Bryan Shoemaker stated that may be true, but added some community members do not view their viewpoints as negative, but instead as valid points.
"So we also need to be ready to listen to them," said Shoemaker.
Officials hope to have the MFP completed by May so it can be presented to the school board for approval in June. From there it would be sent to the OSFC for consideration in July with the State Controlling Board reviewing the state funding in August.
If all this falls into place, district voters could see a bond issue in November.
Groveport Madison's schools
•Asbury Elementary, built in 1963 with additions in 1968 and 1969.
•Dunloe Elementary, built in 1967 with additions in 1968 and 1969.
•Glendening Elementary, built in 1968 with an addition in 1974.
•Groveport Elementary, built in 1923 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
•Madison Elementary, built in 1967 with additions in 1968 and 1969.
•Sedalia Elementary, built in 1969 with an addition in 1974.
•Middle School North, built in 1975.
•Middle School South, built in 1975.
•Junior High, built in stages between 1952-56 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
•High School, built in stages between 1966-70 with an addition in 1975.
Master Facilities Plan
steering committee meetings and
public community forums schedule
•March 11, 6-8 p.m., high school cafeteria, community forum #1 to gather input from the public about facilities.
•April 1, 6-8 p.m., high school cafeteria: steering committee meeting to develop facility options.
•April 15, 6-8 p.m., high school cafeteria, community forum #2 where facility options will be presented to be evaluated by the public.
•May 6, 6-8 p.m., high school cafeteria: steering committee meeting to finalize facility options and recommendations.
•May 13, 7 p.m., Steering committee presentation of master facilities plan recommendations to the Groveport Madison Board of Education for the board's consideration.
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