Rolling Hills moves forward with design of new campus despite financial concerns

Kristi R. Garabrandt, The Daily Jeffersonian
·3 min read
The new Rolling Hills Local School District complex will involve renovations to Meadowbrook High School to accommodate grades 6-12 and the the design of a 78,235 square foot addition to house elementary students, the district's preschool and administration offices, as seen in this schematic by Fanning Howey.
The new Rolling Hills Local School District complex will involve renovations to Meadowbrook High School to accommodate grades 6-12 and the the design of a 78,235 square foot addition to house elementary students, the district's preschool and administration offices, as seen in this schematic by Fanning Howey.

Rolling Hills Local School District is proceeding with the design phase of its $48.3 million new pre-k through12 campus for now, despite financial concerns.

However, the vote came after board members voiced concerns over the raising cost of construction and materials on Wednesday and discussions with the project managers, the architects and finance advisor.

Board president John Urdak said the board is taking this very seriously and wants to do what's best for the community.

Urdak also said they want to be clear regarding the cost if they decided they couldn't afford to continue with the project.

"None of us could foresee what was going to happen to the economy," Urdak said. "We just want to make sure the decision we make tonight is the best for the district."

The project calls for the renovation the current high school, building on a middle school and adding a two-story K-5 building (82,000-square-feet) on the front of the complex. It's being funded by $21.4 million from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission and a 51% local match ($22.4 million) provided from funding available by the Guernsey Power Plant. The district will receive the funds from the Power Plant over a span of 20 years.

Kandi Raach, school treasurer, and Patrick King, of Stifel Public Finance, said they were about $3 million into the project.

King informed the board members that if they backed out now, it wouldn't be a hit to their credit but it could make it harder to get the financing again if they decided to pick the project up at a later time.

Stacey Thomas, project manager with Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, said this was uncharted waters and she has never had a project like this where the board was considering whether to move forward or not.

She said she would need an answer soon because there were other districts chomping at the bit for money to build new campuses and she would need to release the funds earmarked from the state.

Andy Rogers of Summit Construction said that if they at least continue through the design phase and then re-evaluate they would at least have a completed design to either move forward with or pick up at a later date.

Rogers noted once the final design is approved in February or March of 2023, prices could be more stable. He added they are about four month behind schedule on the project now.

The board also voted to give the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission a first notice of intent to amend the project agreement and acknowledge the obligation to contribute the school district's proportional share of actual cost overrun.

"This is just another move forward to the next step," Urdak said. "I look forward to continuing to move forward on the project."

"The decision I think to give the construction company more time to figure out a real cost and a hard cost is right," Scott Golec, superintendent said. "This is just a heck of an opportunity for the kids so I think we have to do everything that we can,"

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Rolling Hills goes forward with design of new campus despite concerns