Toledo group's Scott High School report to be released soon

8/13/2008

Toledo school officials expect to receive within two weeks a report estimating with greater precision the cost to renovate Scott High School.

Architectural Vision Group of Westlake, Ohio, assessed the historic building on Collingwood Boulevard last week, district Business Manager Ron Victor on Monday told a special Toledo Board of Education committee overseeing the district's building program. The group is expected to complete its report assessing the school's renovation needs in about 10 days and submit it to the Toledo Public Schools and the Ohio School Facilities Commission, which footed the assessment's $80,000 bill.

The state commission is paying for about 77 percent of the building program, with the district contributing the balance.

Renovating Scott has been estimated at $40 million. The enrollment-based formula for state's funding assigns only $28 million for the project.

Once Toledo Public Schools and state officials receive the report, they will begin negotiating potential cuts to the work plan to reduce the $12 million or higher funding gap. Cuts may include deleting parts of the building, such as its vocational-skills center, to reduce its total size.

If the gap can be narrowed to a reasonable number, perhaps $3 million, renovation would be a go, Mr. Victor told the two-member Ohio Schools Facilities Commission committee, comprising school board members Darlene Fisher and Lisa Sobecki.

In the meantime, the school board is considering putting a bond issue on the November ballot that would give the district access to $37 million in bonds that could be used for capital improvements. Some of that money is expected to go toward a Scott renovation.

The school board has called a special meeting for 7:30 a.m. tomorrow to discuss putting the bond issue before voters on

Nov. 4, along with a possible operating tax levy.