A new K-12 school building for Jefferson Township Local Schools needs a 10.07 mills bond/levy to pass on May 7. Superintendent Richard Gates is confident the levy will pass.

The new school would replace a 1964 middle and high school on Union Road.

“It’s our turn, it’s our time,” Gates said, repeating the slogan the district has adopted for the $17 million school it needs to replace the two deteriorating ones (including Blairwood Elementary).

Money to build on the current Jefferson football field will come from the bond/levy, of which 8.37 mills goes toward building the school and 1.7 mills goes toward operating it. Forty-one percent of the cost of the school being built will be funded by the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

The bond/levy is a one-vote issue. Both the building and operating parts must be approved for the district to be able to move forward.

Already, the district has demolished a 1928 building near the high school that had been used as a high school and for other uses until it was decommissioned in 1980. Blairwood and the current high school also will come down.

“Our legacy can’t be we created an area of green space,” said Gates.

A similar bond/levy was on the November ballot, failing by 56 votes.

Now, even with Governor John Kasich’s new budget, the district must pass these issues to secure a new school.

“We can’t determine what comes out of the governor’s office,” Gates said. “We continue to tighten our belt. That’s what we can control.”

Jefferson Township considers its average home to be $50,000 in value, with the cost to the average owner of one of those homes a little more than $154 a year. For a $100,000 home, the cost would be about $308 a year.

Five years ago, when Gates took over the district, he was told the schools were in fiscal emergency and would be taken over by the state as the district tried to control almost $2 million in debt. The state was expected to be in control for five years.

After three years, the district was out of fiscal emergency and Gates has spearheaded a project for students to take dual credits at Sinclair Community College.

“We have high-achieving kids,” Gates said. “And our kids are taking college credits with no cost to the families. We’re picking up the costs (with help from Sinclair) for student achievement. Our job was to fix this. We have honor roll kids at Jefferson. Now, they’re honor roll students at Sinclair.

“Our kids are anxious about this (new school). I have letters from kids asking if we want them to go door-to-door. We’re going to get the message out better about what’s happening at Jefferson schools.”