North Canton school leaders seek input on middle school, high school upgrades

Patricia Faulhaber
·3 min read

NORTH CANTON − Residents in the North Canton City School District can learn more about plans to possibly rebuild North Canton Middle School and renovate Hoover High School on Jan. 23.

District officials plan to discuss where the ongoing elementary construction project stands and what the next phase might entail during a community meeting that will be held at 6 p.m. in Hoover Hall.

“When we met about the first part of the building project and the bond issue passed in May of 2020, we also talked about Phase II,” Superintendent Jeff Wendorf said. “We did the elementary schools with the first phase. The second phase is for grades 6-12. It could include a rebuilt middle school and a possible renovation of the high school. We want to hear from the community about what they would like to see for the building project in the future.”

More on the school construction projectNorth Canton breaks ground on new school buildings, despite opposition

The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission’s Classroom Facilities Assistance Program has set aside $33.8 million for the middle school project. The district has 13 months to come up with its $18.8 million share of the $52.7 million project, which would include the demolition of the existing middle school at 605 Fair Oaks Ave. SW and building a new school for students in sixth through eighth grades. The district likely will need to seek a tax issue to fund its share of the project, Wendorf has said.

If the district does not come up with its share of the project before the 13 months ends, it will not lose the state money. Instead, the district would be added to a list of “lapsed” districts, which keep priority funding status and still can access their state allotment once they secure their funding share.

Residents challenge Portage Street school demolition

During the school board's Wednesday meeting, city residents Bonnie Tewanger and Chuck Osborne and Hoover High School graduate Jill Kemp of Medina presented the board with a petition of nearly 1,000 signatures of people who oppose the demolition of Portage Street Elementary, which has been designated a historical building.

The building is slated for demolition this summer as part of the $58 million elementary school construction project.

The school board took no immediate action on the petition.

The board also:

  • Approved Robert Roden as board president and Jessica Stroia as vice president.

  • Set the board's regular meetings for 5:30 p.m. every third Wednesday of the month.

  • Approved a contract for excavation services with Bob Bennett Construction at Northwood Elementary for the creation of an enlarged detention basin, at a cost of $48,400. The project will begin this month and the estimated completion time for the project is two weeks, weather permitting.

  • Authorized an out-of-state field trip for Missy Stertzbach, speech and debate adviser, Max Schroeter and Alex Kalmar, chaperones and 15 students from the team to participate in a speech & debate tournament in Pittsburgh Feb. 10-11 with no cost to the district except for transportation and a substitute teacher.

  • Accepted donations as follows: $24,000 from Chris Mears and Karen Katz to be used toward the Glenn Mears Scholarship fund that is awarded to a Hoover High School graduating senior; $2,500 from Friends of the Little Art Gallery to be used toward the Ty Palmer Scholarship fund that is awarded to a Hoover High School graduating senior; $48,000 from Terry and Gail Moore for the Legacy Campaign for athletic facilities; $500 from PRC Medical, LLC to be used to help pay for registration and entry fees for the Hoover High School Robotics team.

UP NEXT: The board will next meet at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 15 in the library at Hoover High School.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: North Canton Schools to discuss middle school, Hoover HS upgrades