The boiler heater at Colerain Elementary School is old and difficult to control, Northwest Local School District Superintendent Darrell Yater said. In the winter, it "really bakes the rooms," and instructional materials that teachers put up in their classrooms tend to "melt off the walls."
The school is 100 years old and was set to be replaced in the district's master facilities plan, which rolled out in 2021. That plan also included two new middle schools (to address capacity issues that force student small groups to meet in closets and staff offices to be housed in vacant locker rooms) and renovations to Monfort Heights Elementary School. The catch: It depended on voters passing a 38-year, 4.98 mill bond issue.
They didn't.
In November, 64% of voters went against the measure. The district put the bond up again last week. It failed again, this time with 75% of voters against it.
Is there another way to address the district's aging buildings and maintenance needs?
"No," Yater told The Enquirer on Thursday, two days after the bond issue failed for a second time. "Even if we wanted to just do repairs to our buildings, we would still be asking our community for a bond."
Last week voters in southwest Ohio approved school measures in four districts, including at Forest Hills Local School District and Loveland City Schools, and rejected four others, including at Winton Woods City School District and Ross Local Schools.
Like Northwest, Loveland put up a repeat measure in May after its levy failed in November. Unlike Northwest, Loveland voters had a change of heart.
But even with this levy passage, Superintendent Mike Broadwater said, it's too late to bring back any of the cuts some community members were hoping for, like high school busing. If the levy had passed in November, it would have been different because the funds would have kicked in on the first of the year. Now, the district will have to wait until Jan. 1, 2024.
For the rest of this year, Loveland will be burning through its cash reserves.
"We're not looking to bring anything back," Broadwater said on Wednesday. "We're just looking to maintain what we have."
School funding: Is there a better way?
Ohio's school funding model has been deemed unconstitutional for more than two decades. Various districts get drastically different funds based on the state's formula, which many believe does not provide proper funding for school facilities and materials across the state.
"There are some districts that love the state funding because they get a lot, and then there's some districts, the wealthier districts, do not," Broadwater said.
He's hoping to get community discussions started soon to address the state school funding model and lack of state funding for Loveland schools.
"It really is not good for communities," Broadwater said. "You're kind of tearing communities apart with this stuff."
Northwest can't count on state funds for its necessary facilities work, either. Yater said he knows his community appreciates the district's fiscal responsibility when it comes to operating costs − he doesn't see a need for a tax hike in the next five years, at least.
"It's just that with facilities, we have no other (funding) options," Yater said.
Yater said the district will go back to the drawing board soon with the same committee of parents, teachers, staff and community members who put together the first master facilities plan. The initial plan sought to "not just kick the can down the road" by fully updating district buildings. But perhaps this time they'll have to settle for cheaper fixes that won't stand the test of time.
It sounds like that's what taxpayers want, at least.
"Voters remain concerned about the district’s ability to care for new buildings. The district cites the need to replace existing buildings after failing to perform tens of millions of dollars of normal maintenance," reads a Friday press release from Advocates for Education Excellence, an anti-levy group in the Northwest Schools community.
"The decision by the district to add an additional 15% to school property taxes during exceedingly difficult economic times, when residents are challenged by historically high levels of inflation, food, water, and energy prices, demonstrates a disregard for taxpayers and the harsh economic reality residents are experiencing."
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