Dublin Schools Connection: School district continues to grow
Dublin City Schools takes pride in being a destination district in central Ohio. Our district embraces the growth that comes with such a designation and we are intentional about responsibly planning for the future.
We are seeing the growth in our northwest quadrant pick up at a rapid pace. To help address the growth, we have efforts in motion at both the elementary and high school levels. We are in the final stages of a 60,000-square-foot addition onto Jerome High School that will open next fall.
This state-of-the-art addition will serve the Jerome community well for many years to come and help to alleviate the overcrowded hallways there for the next five to seven years.
Similarly, the need for additional space at Depp Elementary continues to increase and has prompted our board of education to recently approve the addition of 12 modular classrooms. Adding modular classrooms is a temporary solution that will allow us to avoid redistricting our elementary schools while still accommodating our students and families.
This gives us the opportunity to prepare a plan for our voters in 2024 for an additional elementary in the northwest portion of our district.
Along with an additional elementary, another conversation is the potential for Dublin City Schools to provide all-day kindergarten. We are one of the few remaining districts that offers half-day kindergarten, which puts a disproportionate burden on our families with lower incomes.
The cost of day care and transportation can be a hurdle for many of our families. All-day kindergarten not only supports those families' needs, but at the same time, prepares all our students with a stronger foundation for their educational career.
As we look at growth and continue to think of what the future may bring, the board of education has recently purchased 100 acres of land on the corner of Mitchell-Dewitt Road and Industrial Parkway for the potential site of a fourth high school.
While we don’t anticipate a fourth high school being a short-term need, it will likely be something that we need to consider for 2028 or beyond. Having the opportunity to purchase that land now and to have it in the event that we do decide to proceed with a fourth high school is a huge benefit for the district.
Similarly, Dublin City Schools owned the land that Hopewell Elementary is on for more than 30 years. We were pleased to have been able to purchase that land and we look forward to a potential conversation down the road about what that may look like.
The recently completed community survey, the work that we are doing to create a strategic vision with a master facility plan and the possibility of an additional elementary and all-day kindergarten allows us to present our voters with options in 2024 to meet our community’s needs as we continue to grow.
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As our district builds new schools and additions, we will also need to provide teachers and staff to meet the needs of our students within those buildings.
As we look at this in 2024, we will likely be asking our voters for new operating funds for the first time since 2018. As responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, we pledge to only come to the taxpayers when needed in order to continue excellent educational opportunities.
We embrace the growth of our community; we are proud that people want to raise their families in our Dublin community.
John Marschhausen is the superintendent of Dublin City Schools.
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Dublin Schools Connection: School district continues to grow
