On May 8, 2015, the Northridge community voted For Issue 8, a combined bond and maintenance levy that will provide new school facilities in the Northridge Local School District. This 5.42 mill bond/maintenance levy will raise 13.5 million dollars, the Northridge community’s share of a 55.5 million dollar school facilities project. The remaining 42 million dollars will be provided through the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission (OSFC), a state agency created in 1997 whose mission is to “work in partnership with local school districts to provide quality learning facilities for Ohio’s school children.”
This collaboration between the Northridge Schools, the Northridge community and the OSFC, has resulted in much more than just a plan for a new building. It has set in motion a project that will help to secure the future of the Northridge Schools and community and will provide a centrally located Northridge Community Campus and Park. Students, parents, community members and staff will be given the opportunity to “dream together” in order to design and create innovative and effective teaching and learning spaces as well as educational, athletic, social and recreational areas for the entire community to enjoy. A new, state of the art preschool through 12th grade building will be the cornerstone of the project. This all-inclusive learning facility will provide the engaging, 21st century learning environment that the students of Northridge and the entire Northridge community so richly deserve.
In the end, new facilities will be a “win-win” for the Northridge Schools and community. Research shows that new school facilities result in more engaging instruction, increased parent and community involvement, and most importantly higher student achievement. Research also indicates that when new school buildings are built, property values increase and student enrollment grows. Perhaps the most exciting part of this research, however, is that the positive results are not delayed until the opening of a new facility. Instead, positive student and community outcomes begin with the excitement and energy of groundbreaking and continue for many years after the facility is complete. As always, I look forward to the journey ahead!
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