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Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Xenia schools officials unveil smaller building plan
XENIA — School board members voted Monday, Aug. 10, to put a smaller tax request before voters in the fall to build and renovate schools, a move officials say is a response to two past defeats at the ballot box.
The plans eliminate a new high school, which Superintendent Jeffrey Lewis said community members made clear they did not feel was needed. The $34.6 million bond request is less than half the size of past requests.
It will be the district’s third trip to the ballot box and strong voter support of a recent operating levy for city services has school district leaders hoping electors will also recognize a need to replace some half-a-century old schools.
The city’s recent 3.5 mill levy won the support of 72 percent of city voters Aug. 4, according to unofficial results from the Greene County Board of Elections. “I think it was a good sign for the city,” said Jeffrey Lewis, superintendent. “People have pride for this town. They don’t want a situation that is dangerous or problematic.”
But if the district’s five elementary school aren’t replaced soon, and with the state’s help, the aging buildings could cost taxpayers serious problems. The buildings roofs, boilers, windows and other infrastructure are on their last legs. “It’s a case of don’t look too close because if you do you’ll see what’s there,” Lewis said.
District members finalized levy plans Monday, for the $34.6 million bond issue, the local share of a $60 million building project, that will be paid for with the help of the Ohio School Facilities Commission. It will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $98 annually.
School officials listened to the past two resounding defeats at the ballot box and responded with a smaller building plan, Lewis said in a Monday news release.
If passed, the new taxes would be collected over a 38-year period beginning after construction on the five schools finishes in 2013. “I can’t look for a better plan to offer for the community,” Lewis said.
Xenia won’t be the only district asking voters to build a new school. Cedar Cliff board members also recently voted to ask voters to approve $13 million, the local share of a $25 million project, to replace a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade building with the help of the school facilities commission.
When Yellow Springs school board members meet Aug. 13, they could approve asking voters to renew a five-year operating levy set to expire.
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Suspect in Bellbrook church theft faces new charge
Nickolas Williams, the man charged in connection with a July 11 theft from Bellbrook Community Church, is now in Franklin County jail facing a separate breaking and entering charge out of Columbus.
Bellbrook police Chief David Helling said Williams, at just 28, has one of the longest criminal histories he’s seen, with charges in Ohio, Florida and stretching up the East Coast.
Williams is suspected of stealing Bellbrook Community Church’s credit card, then using it to buy $800 in merchandise at Columbus-area stores. He has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of receiving stolen property in that case.
Williams was in Greene County jail on the two receiving stolen property charges until being taken to Franklin County on Aug. 3. He’s due back in Xenia for a trial Sept. 21.
In the meantime, Williams is being investigated by the Licking County and Fairfield County sheriffs as well as Granville police for theft-related offenses in those jurisdictions, many of them involving churches. Helling said there might be charges from a Xenia theft as well.
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