District administrators apprised parents and community members during a forum Wednesday at KMS about three major plans underway: future-ready facilities, the middle school merger and the Barnes building revitalization.
Future-ready facilities master plan
Kettering City Schools is forging ahead with its future-ready facilities master plan that will leverage nearly $160 million in state co-funding for construction.
The Board of Education voted to place a 5.93-mill bond issue on the May 5 ballot at the same Tuesday meeting during which members passed a resolution to officially close Van Buren.
The 10-year facilities plan is to reduce the district’s footprint from 12 schools to seven in two segments.
“Our staff have done a phenomenal job utilizing the resources that we have, but it’s time for us to invest in the future,” board President Mark Martin said.
The district is eligible for 43% of the cost of basic construction to build new schools from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, which is a state agency that partners with and provides funds to districts for new buildings.
The first segment is expected to take five years to complete and will cost about $222 million, which is the amount the levy would generate, if approved.
The second segment also is expected to take five years to complete. The local share is an additional $100 million, but the state’s $160 million co-funding would kick in, said architect Mike Ruetschle, a Fairmont graduate, of Dayton-based Ruetschle Architects.
“All in all the district’s share would be approximately $320 million,” he said of the facilities plan that has a total cost around $480 million.
The cost just to address critical needs at the 60- and 70-year-old schools is about $180 million. Full renovation of the aging buildings would cost an estimated $350 million and would not be eligible for state funding.
The estimated cost of the bond, according to Kettering Schools, is about $208 for each $100,000 in property valuation a year, with some relief for qualifying seniors and those with disabilities.
If the levy does not pass in May, the state funding would still be available for another chance at the ballot. However, passing a bond issue will lock in the 43% co-funding share that may otherwise change, Ruetschle said.
Segment one
The first step is to build a 220,000-square-foot middle school of two or three stories for all middle school students, which will front Far Hills Avenue on the Fairmont High School campus.
Once complete, the high school will use the new building during construction at Fairmont, which will retain all but the academic wing. The new 180,000-square-foot academic wing will be three stories and rotated 90 degrees from the current location, Ruetschle said, which will allow for a new entry to the high school.
The middle and high school campus also will have a designated bus drop off and three parent drop-off and pickup zones that will be separate from staff parking. School start times will be unchanged, with the middle school starting an hour later.
Rounding out the first segment are necessary improvements to keep the elementary schools safe, warm and dry.
Segment two
The second segment is to build four new neighborhood elementary schools for pre-kindergarten through fifth grades and to renovate Greenmont Elementary School, which was built in 2005, making it the newest in the district.
This will take the number of elementary schools in the district from eight down to five.
Class sizes will be more consistent in school buildings with a larger enrollment, Assistant Superintendent Dan Von Handorf said.
During construction, the Kettering Middle School building would be used as swing space for elementary students.
The second phase also includes renovations to the Fairmont cafeteria and career tech center.
Middle school merger
Middle school consolidation is a key step in the district’s master plan. However, the announcement earlier this month that Van Buren would close five years ahead of schedule took many by surprise.
Van Buren, built in 1949, is the oldest school building in use. Many parents and community members who attended an Oct. 15 facilities forum and tour of Van Buren — which highlighted the building’s cramped classrooms, narrow hallways, lack of electrical outlets, climate control issues and persistent roof leaks — expressed doubts the school could remain open for five more years.
Since then, the district learned it would cost more than $2.8 million for a new roof and structural repairs just to keep the building “warm, safe and dry” in that time frame, Superintendent Mindy McCarty-Stewart said. Also, she said the district will save nearly $1 million in operating costs a year, or about $4.9 million over five years by closing Van Buren.
Is there enough space at Kettering Middle School for another 600 students?
“This building is designed for 1,900 kids, and we have 1,600 middle school students (total) right now,” said Assistant Superintendent Dan Von Handorf, who said he has a daughter at Van Buren who will attend the merged school next year.
Built in 1962 as Fairmont East High School, the Glengarry Drive school has 239,000 square feet, compared to Van Buren’s 118,400 square feet. With the combined enrollment there will be an average of 550 students at each grade level, Von Handorf said.
The transportation department has completed mock routes and determined they will be able to provide busing for each student who lives a mile or more from school without additional drivers or buses. Buses also will be able to continue taking middle school students enrolled in classes at the high school to the Fairmont campus and back.
A committee of staff, students and parents will plan unity events to help ensure a smooth transition and foster a sense of community.
The merger will not result in any staff reductions at the middle school, except possibly through retirement and resignation. One question addressed why the district does not adjust staffing now.
“Every year we look at our current staffing, we look at our class sizes, we look at our enrollment,” Von Handorf said. “We don’t publicize that necessarily, but every year, we have made reductions in staff where we can.”
Barnes building
The district’s iconic Barnes building will be revitalized into a space for community members, entrepreneurs and school administration.
A collaboration among Kettering Schools, the Schiewetz Foundation of Dayton, the city of Kettering and COhatch will see the historic D.L Barnes building at 3750 Far Hills Ave. rehabilitated and renovated at no cost to district taxpayers into a vibrant co-working space.
The building will be divided in half, with one side for Kettering Schools headquarters.
Martin said he is often approached in the community about how money was found for the Barnes building. However, he said the board’s fiscally responsible decision was demolition.
“They came to us with a proposal,” Martin said.
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