South-Western City School District gets in line for next round of OFCC project funding

The South-Western City School District is planning to celebrate the opening of four new middle school buildings in August, but the foundation already is being laid for the next segment of the district's Ohio Facilities Construction Commission project.

Dedication ceremonies for new buildings constructed to replace the district's four oldest middle schools – Brookpark, Finland, Norton and Pleasant View – are set for Aug. 16 and 17, Superintendent Bill Wise said.

"The opening of new school buildings is always exciting for our students and staff and for our community," he said.

The middle school projects were the focus of the second segment of the district's OFCC project, which also included renovations at Jackson Middle School and at East Franklin Elementary School.

The renovations at Jackson include an addition totaling 11,563 square feet, including five classrooms and three specialized small-group learning spaces, according to Wise.

"With our OFCC project, we are creating state-of-the-art, 21st-century buildings to serve our students for decades to come," he said. "The buildings we are renovating are made comparable to the new facilities."

A third segment of the OFCC project is expected to focus on Grove City and Westland high schools, Wise said.

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The school board on June 13 approved a resolution expressing the district's intention to apply to the OFCC for funding to help pay for a portion of the cost of a third segment of the project.

"It basically puts us in the queue to get our share of OFCC funding for our next segment," Wise said. "We would begin working with the OFCC about two years in advance of the expected funding to begin planning the next phase of the project."

The exact timetable for when planning for a third segment might begin is to be determined and would be based on when funds for South-Western become available, he said.

When South-Western sought OFCC funds for the first two segments of its facilities project, the commission had funds available from a settlement the state had made with the tobacco industry, said Melanie Drerup, OFCC's chief of planning.

Those tobacco funds have been spent, and the OFCC now has about $300 million in funds available to provide to districts in each year of the current biennium state budget, she said.

"The amount of funding we have is about the same as in the previous biennium," she said.

What has changed is that more districts are interested in applying for OFCC money, according to Drerup.

"The demand is greater," she said, adding that by adopting the resolution, South-Western has guaranteed its place in line to receive OFCC funds when they become available.

Ten districts are in the queue ahead of South-Western, she said. Once those districts have secured their OFCC funding, then it will be South-Western's turn.

The OFCC provides about half of the funding for a project, with a district providing the rest of the cost, she said.

Given South-Western's previous two segments, the district is virtually a shoo-in to receive OFCC funding once the district's turn in line comes, Drerup said.

The other districts  in line ahead of South-Western are Wadsworth, Greeneview, Northmont, Fairborn, Switzerland of Ohio, Southwest Local, Fairfield Community, Licking Heights, West Clermont and Xenia, according to OFCC public-relations manager J.C. Benton.

The total cost of the second-segment OFCC project was about $193 million. Voters approved a 38-year, $93.4 million bond issue in November 2018 to pay for the district's share.

The first segment of the OFCC project included construction of 13 new elementary school buildings, a new Franklin Heights High School building and renovations to the Buckwood Woods and Darby Woods elementary school buildings.

A potential fourth OFCC segment eventually would address facility needs at the South-Western Career Academy and at the intermediate school buildings, according to Wise.

"It's still many years in the future before we would be looking at a fourth segment," he said.

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: South-Western gets in line for next round of OFCC project funding