Kettering City Schools is hosting its third community forum on the districtwide facilities master plan from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Kettering Middle School, 3000 Glengarry Drive.
10-year plan, segment one
The district is eligible for 43% of the cost to build new school buildings from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, a state agency that provides funds to districts to build new buildings.
The first segment of the 10-year plan is to construct a new middle school fronting Far Hills Avenue on the Fairmont High School campus; tear down and rebuild the FHS academic wing; and demolish Van Buren, which will be repurposed for new athletic and activity practice fields.
Funds have been allocated for the abatement and demolition of Van Buren, said Kari Basson, coordinator of community relations for the district.
“The exact timing of this work is subject to the scheduling availability of specialized abatement and demolition contractors,” she said.
The land repurposing is contingent on the facilities master plan moving forward.
The community is expected to pay a local share through a bond levy to receive eligible OFCC funding. The board plans to split the bond request into two parts but has not yet placed such a levy on the ballot. A school board meeting on Tuesday is expected to finalize the ballot language for the May 2026 election.
The state will kick in about $159 million for the entire project, and the local share is about $321 million, Kettering Treasurer Justin Blevins said during an Oct. 15 meeting.
The estimated cost of the bond, according to Kettering Schools, is roughly $210 for each $100,000 in property valuation per year, with some relief offered for qualifying seniors or those with disabilities.
Middle school merger
The district held forums last week at each middle school, with parents asking similar questions at each session.
The district created a “Middle School Merger Q&A,” which is posted on ketteringschools.org, based on the questions coming from families, such as whether KMS has enough space, whether there will be staff cuts; and whether busing would be a problem.
Kettering Middle School is much larger than Van Buren and will be able to accommodate the consolidated enrollment of about 1,600 students. The former Fairmont East High School was built in 1962 and has a capacity of about 2,250 students, according to the district.
The district has budgeted $150,000 to renovations at Kettering Middle School for additional classroom and programming space to accommodate the move of students from Van Buren, Basson said.
The district provides busing for any student living more than a mile from their school; all students living within the Van Buren attendance area will be eligible for transportation beginning next school year.
“Our transportation department has run mock middle school routes and looked at historical usage of bus transportation for our middle school students, and based on this data, they are confident that we will be able to provide transportation to all eligible middle school students who wish to ride the bus to and from school without having to hire additional bus drivers or purchase additional buses,” Basson said.
Staff cuts are not anticipated, but positions may not be filled following retirements and resignations, according to the district.
Why close Van Buren now?
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 be open for five more years.
“There needs to be a time where we have to weigh what are we investing in knowing that it’s only going to be here for five more years?” McCarty-Stewart said at the forum.
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 period. McCarty-Stewart said the immediate cost is an overriding factor in the decision to close Van Buren early.
In addition, the district will be able to realize a savings in operating costs of about $4.9 million over five years, she said.
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