School requests find success across region
Liberty-Benton loses, but other bonds and levies pass
11/6/2013The Bryan City Schools district will build a school, thanks to voter support of a 28-year, $32.8 million bond issue.
Voters in the Williams County district approved the proposal to build a sixth-through-12th-grade school, as well as pay for a middle-school renovation and the demolition of several buildings.
The roughly $57 million project includes a state contribution of about $18.9 million and $5.75 million from the district’s permanent improvement fund.
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“For the students, this is going to allow us to match what we already do in the classroom, as far as we have great students, we have great classrooms, and we get positive results every day. This building is just going to give us new opportunities to continue that success and that excellence,” Superintendent Diana Savage said.
While school officials celebrated Tuesday night’s results, Ms. Savage said the hard work on the new building — which the district wants to open sometime in 2017 — begins today.
“I believe that voters really listened to the facts that were presented by a very hard-working committee and the community became engaged,” she said.
There will not, however, be a new school in the Liberty-Benton Local Schools district. Voters in the Hancock County district defeated a 35-year, $19.7 million bond issue and an associated 0.5-mill continuing maintenance levy.
The bond issue would have paid local costs for a $31.8 million school building project.
In the Napoleon Area City Schools district, voters approved a request for an additional 2.9 mills for five years, generating about $880,000 in its first year, for operating expenses.
Voters in the EHOVE Career Center District, which covers 16 school districts, approved a 0.5-mill continuing levy. It will replace a five-year levy that dates to 1979 and collects about 0.27 mills, or $821,469 a year. The replacement levy would bring in roughly $1.5 million a year.
EHOVE Superintendent Sharon Mastroianni said the success of the levy means the career center, based in Milan, Ohio, likely won’t have to return to voters to ask for more money in the near future.
“We look at this as a direct reflection of the work that we do every day for the career center. We’re thrilled to have that kind of positive result,” she said.
Gibsonburg Exempted Village Schools won support for its 0.75 percent, five-year income tax.
Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6056, or on Twitter @vanmccray.