State would pay 82 percent if voters approve levy for other 18 percent
Northridge Local Schools will receive a $41.8 million state grant to construct new school buildings, if district voters approve a bond levy, likely in May, to raise the other $9.2 million.
Northridge, which serves Harrison Twp. and north Dayton, was one of three school districts approved for funding this week by the Ohio School Facilities Commission. School districts must raise their local share within 13 months, according to the OSFC.
“This is a great opportunity for our community to replace aging buildings and provide our students and community with the excellent learning environment that they so richly deserve,” Northridge Superintendent Dave Jackson said Friday.
Northridge’s buildings range from pre-World War II structures to the “new” 50-year-old high school, according to school board President Tina Fiore. She said if the project is not approved, the district will need to make more than $5 million in repairs to existing buildings.
The district already held two community meetings to gather input, and a 40-member committee presented a master plan vision that the school board approved.
Fiore said that plan calls for a single school building for the district’s roughly 1,800 students, with three wings separating students into elementary, middle and high school groups. But she said specific details have not been finalized. The district hopes to retain its existing auditorium and Esther Dennis school gym.
“We heard people say it’s important to keep the aesthetics on top of that beautiful hill on North Dixie,” Fiore said. “Before we put that levy on, we will have open public meetings where people can say, ‘I want this, I don’t want that, here’s what’s important to me.’ ”
The state grant would cover 82 percent of Northridge’s total project cost, a much larger share than Middletown and Northwood schools would get in the offers they received this week. School Facilities Commission spokesman Rick Savors said state law calls for a lower local contribution in school districts that have lower property wealth.
Fiore said the current schools cannot properly support growing technology needs, including state-mandated online testing. None of the district’s existing buildings are air-conditioned, and the high school has single-pane windows that waste money.
“If we can’t offer updated technology and the ability to use it, we’re crippling our students,” she said. “The amount of money the district can save on the technology and energy savings of the new buildings is amazing.”
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