West Holmes District in community discussion phase of different kind of campus
WASHINGTON TWP. — West Holmes Local School District hosted a pair of community meetings at the elementary school buildings last week to share findings of the facility advisory committee and discuss the state and future of the buildings in the district.
Two more similar meetings are planned, one at Millersburg Elementary School on Wednesday and the other at West Holmes Middle School on Thursday.
Superintendent Eric Jurkovic said the purpose of the meetings is to present the process and information that has been discussed by the facility advisory committee, along with a possible plan of action and when to put it on the ballot.
"The meetings have gone well," the superintendent said about the gatherings in Killbuck and Lakeville. "We gave a summary of the process that we have followed and the information that we have put together from the committee. There were about 40 people at Killbuck and 35 at Lakeville, and at the end they got to ask questions regarding the information."
What is best for students and teachers
Jurkovic said the process of evaluating the state of the buildings began more than two years ago.
A core group of 12 people, including the superintendent, treasurer, two board members and community members, got the ball rolling. They developed the Facility Advisory Committee, which was made up of 40-50 people, of which fewer than half were district employees. A majority of the committee members agree there is a need to upgrade facilities.
"It is time now to start talking about this process," he said at the Lakeville meeting. "We have collected some information from stakeholders, which is you guys (the community) about a solution and which direction to go. Committees talked about what is best for students, what's best for teachers, what operational improvements need to be made, and what will the community support."
Top drivers: Age, conditions, costs, safety, environment, marketability
Jurkovic pointed out five top drivers of the discussions, which are age and conditions of the buildings; operating and maintenance costs; safety and security; improved learning environment; and marketability. The elementary buildings in Killbuck, Lakeville and Millersburg are all more than 100 years old.
The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), which oversees capital projects for agencies and higher education institutions supported by the state, went through every one of the buildings and gave an evaluation.
The OFCC went over roofing, heating, plumbing, fixtures, windows, structure and more. The estimated costs to renovate buildings up to OFCC standards, according to the state report, are:
Lakeville Elementary, almost $11 million.
Killbuck Elementary, $17 million.
Nashville Elementary, $10 million.
West Holmes Middle School, $37 million
West Holmes High School, $34 million
The high school is 23 years old.
"This was a huge contention of the committee. They did not agree with that at all," Jurkovic said.
The superintendent noted the OFCC recommends if the cost to renovate is more than two-thirds the cost of a new building, it recommends knocking the old building down. It also recommends making a K-12 campus in the district, which committee felt was not an option.
The state also recommends each building should have 350 students. In the West Holmes District, only Millersburg Elementary is t that level. Enrollment in the district decreased from almost 2,500 in 2012-13 to about 1,800 in 2023.
In the end, the committee recommended to the district not to go through OFCC for funding.
New building options discussed
The facility committee pointed out there is a need for something to be done.
Laura Nowels Kaster, a committee member, is a Lakeville resident who grew up in the district and is raising her children there. She said the committee discussed the pros and cons of moving forward with some sort of plan.
She presented three options the committee felt were most reasonable. One was construction of a pre-K-grade 5 facility; second was pre-K-grade 8 facility; the third was a pre-K-grade 6 and move grades 7-8 into the high school building.
"The more we talked about option B, a new pre-K through 8 building, of the three options, we felt that was the best way to go," Kaster said. "The consensus we came up with was a new pre-K through 8 building, so far. We still need a lot of information and community feedback before we move forward."
Costs of each of the plans will be discussed at future meetings, after the community meetings have concluded and the committee determines which direction they will go.
Questions and answers
Questions addressed to the superintendent included the length of bus rides.
He said transportation costs are all part of the evaluation. The elementary schoolchildren and upper grade students would still operate on a different schedule to accommodate the size of the West Holmes bus fleet.
A concern about the towns that would be impacted by the closure of the schools if a central elementary building is built was addressed, as well as what would be done with the vacant buildings. The buildings could be razed or sold.
There is a lot of history in the buildings, and how that current history would be incorporated into the new facilities has been discussed. Concern about class sizes was discussed. The superintendent did not see a new building affecting class sizes.
A concern over an unfounded additional tax increase in the county was raised. A check with the county auditor found the claim to be false.
One resident asked what is the district looking for? Better facilities or better education for kids. The superintendent said the district wants better facilities and better education.
"Just building a new building does not mean everything is going to be fabulous, but it gives them the opportunity to do more things," Jurkovic said.
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The meeting was not contentious
and discuss when we will put it on the ballot.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: West Holmes District looking at three building configuration options
