Groveport Messenger - June 2nd, 2024

PAGE 2 - GROVEPORT MESSENGER - June 2, 2024
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New school building process progressing
By Rick Palsgrove
Groveport Editor
The Groveport Madison Board of Education moved
the district’s Master Facility Plan for new buildings
forward by approving the Notice of Conditional
Approval and sending it on to the Ohio Facilities
Construction Commission.
The board’s vote was 3-2 with board members John
Kershner and Kathleen Walsh opposing it.
The plan calls for replacing the district’s existing six
elementaries and three middle schools with:
•Three new elementary schools for grades K-4 with
a capacity of 866 students each;
•Three new middle schools for grades 5-8 with a
capacity for 706 students each; and
•Additions to the high school that include space for
expanding the student dining area, storage areas, and
career tech at the rear portion near Cruiser Stadium
and a two story classroom addition at the southeast
corner of the building.
The project has an estimated total Ohio Facilities
Construction Commission (OFCC) co-funded cost of
$273.1 million. It could be done in two phases with the
high school addition and middle schools being built
first at a cost of $134.8 million. Then the new elementary
schools could be constructed in a later phase at an
estimated total OFCC co-funded cost of $107.1 million.
SHP Architects representative Josh Predovich said
the district is in line to receive Ohio Facilities
Construction Commission funding for 53 percent of the
cost of the project with local funding providing 47 percent.
He said there could also be locally funded initiatives,
such as for things like a middle school auditorium,
that would have to be funded 100 percent locally.
There will also be abatement and demolition costs. For
the new middle schools and high school additions the
cost would be funded with $71.4 million in state funds
and $77.2 million in local funds. The local funds
include $13.9 million in locally funded initiatives. A 37
year bond issue for the new middle schools and high
school additions could cost the owner of a $100,000
home an additional $84 annually in property taxes.
For a $166,200 home, which is the median home value
in the district, it would be an additional $139.61 annually
in property taxes.
According to Predovich:
•Two new middle schools would be built in the
northern part of the district - one at the current Middle
School North site and the other on land the district
owns on Noe-Bixby Road. One middle school would be
built in the southern portion of the district at the
Middle School South site.
•There would be two new elementaries built in the
north - one at the current Dunloe Elementary site and
the other at the current Sedalia Elementary site. An
alternative new elementary site could be on land the
district owns in Independence Village, but there are
concerns that this site may be too small. An elementary
school would be built in the southern part of the
district at the existing Glendening Elementary site,
but a second option would be to build this new school
at the current Groveport Elementary site where the
baseball fields now stand.
Groveport Madison officials have stated overcrowding
is a central issue facing the district, but other factors
considered in the facilities planning process
included the age, condition, efficiency, adaptability,
and cost to maintain the existing elementary and middle
schools.
Kershner opposed the Master Facility Plan previously
stating, the district must make sure it errs
toward enough space and “not cut it tight” as well as
concerns he has about what future student transportation
costs would be under this plan.
Walsh questioned several aspects of the plan,
including what would happen to the existing properties
once the existing schools are demolished and that
she believes larger school buildings do not benefit students
and that smaller, more community based schools
are more efficient. Other questions she had included
what the future student transportation costs would be
and what the costs would be if more land is needed.
Groveport Madison Superintendent Jamie Grube
said larger schools are more efficient than smaller
schools. Speaking at the May 20 Groveport City Council
meeting, Grube said larger buildings are more efficient
because the district can offer all its programs in such a
facility rather than having them scattered in various
buildings. He said, though the buildings are large, they
can be made to feel and operate like a small school.
Visit gocruisers.org for more information on the
Master Facility Plan process.
Next steps
The district could consider placing a bond issue for
new buildings on the November 2024 ballot or May
2025 ballot. The Ohio Facilities Construction
Commission considers schools for the next round of
state funding in July.
If the board wants to place a bond issue on the
November 2024 ballot, the board must approve a project
agreement by June. Then, to place a bond issue on
the November ballot, the board must file with the
county auditor in July and with the Franklin County
Board of Elections in August. If the board wishes to
wait to place a bond issue on the May 2025 ballot, then
the ballot filings would be made in January and
February of 2025.
Speaking at Groveport City Council’s May 20 meeting,
Predovich said, if the bond issue passes, it would
take a year for design work and then two years to construct
the buildings, so the new schools could open in
the fall of 2027.
Enrollment and capacity
Enrollment in Groveport Madison is expected to
increase by 626 students in the next 10 years, which is
about 9 percent. This increase includes a projected 72
more students in grades PK-5; 153 in grades 6-8; and
401 in grades 9-12 (including 139 in career tech).
Predovich noted that the district must also add in the
number of students currently housed in modular classrooms
when considering the size of new buildings.
See SCHOOL, page 3