By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
A multi-year project that aims to make lasting improvements to one of the largest properties within the South-Western City Schools District will soon come to a close.
At its meeting on Feb. 13, the board of education unanimously approved an item for action that allowed the district to come to terms with a local construction company for the third and final phase of the transportation lot improvement project.
Under the terms of the contract, the district will pay the Columbus-based Strawser Paving Company $471,300 to remove old asphalt paving from under the bus parking spaces and replace it with roller compacted concrete for extra durability.
“This will alleviate buses sinking into the asphalt,” said Evan Debo, the district’s executive director of communications, in an email explaining the scope of the project.
In addition to that payment, the district will also pay $47,000 for owner’s contingency for unforeseen items and/or owner requested changes during the construction process.
The final phase of the transportation lot improvement project will take place over the summer when the district’s fleet of more than 200 buses sit idle.
The first phase of the project to make improvements to the 13-acre lot on Southwest Boulevard was completed in 2021 and the second phase was completed in the following year. District officials said the project had to be broken down into multiple phases because of the scope of the project and the logistics of relocating hundreds of buses.
The need for the paving project was addressed at a board of education meeting in 2020 when employees with the transportation department began to notice fissures growing underneath the asphalt. The district has spent more than $935,000 to address these issues in its first and second phase of the transportation lot improvement project.
In related news, the board of education also approved a contract with Final Floor Inc., a flooring contractor based out of Sugar Grove, Ohio, to replace the gymnasium flooring at Grove City High School in the (estimated) amount of $205,856. The board said this measure was needed as the flooring was extensively damaged when a water line burst at the school over winter break.
District officials said the work to replace the wooden floor will begin at the conclusion of the winter sports season.
In other news, the district has approved its summer school calendar for high school students. Summer school will take place from June 7 through June 30 (there will be no school on June 19) and the instruction hours will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The district will not provide transportation during the summer session and there will be no fee assessed to the students.
Central Crossing and Grove City High School students will attend classes at Central Crossing, whereas Franklin Heights students and Westland students will attend classes at their respective schools. All students taking health or physical education will attend Central Crossing.
The end of course exams will take place on June 26, 27, 28, 29; Each high school will test their own students.
Graduation is scheduled for Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. at Westland High School.
