By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
Sometimes more means less and sometimes more is just more confusing. With two issues both related to building projects on the November ballot, Colonel Crawford Superintendent Todd Martin wants voters in his district to be absolutely clear about what they are voting on.
“The big thing primarily is we’re going to have two issues out there for Nov. 5. One is a half-mil maintenance (levy) which is for permanent improvement that the state requires. To get their $6.4 million, guaranteed, we have to pass that half-mil obligation,” Martin said. “The second part is if the community wants to have a new large competition gymnasium with the locker rooms. That will be a bond issue for 1.8 mils. That will be on there too. Those are two separate issues.”
Martin stressed that the half-mil levy was necessary to guarantee the state would be a paying partner in the project that includes nine classrooms in a high school wing to be added on to the William and Hannah Crawford building that currently houses pre-K through the eighth grade students for the district. The cost to a property owner with a $100,000 home is approximately $17.50 per year.
For Martin, that trade-off is simple enough: a half-mil permanent improvement levy that guarantees $6.4 million of state funding, or 31 percent of the project’s cost.
“We’re the least funded school (district) in Crawford County state aid-wise,” Martin said. “That goes for this project too. Colonel Crawford is paying 69 percent.”
Colonel Crawford will use what it has coming to it from the Ohio School Facilities Commission, the state’s share of the current pre-K through 8 building, as the district’s share for the high school wing.
But a high school wing isn’t all that the district is getting in that project. It will also be getting the long-awaited demolition of old elementary buildings at Sulphur Springs and Whetstone, the old Intermediate building in North Robinson and the current high school building west of the cafeteria. The district will keep the cafeteria, gymnasium, pool, locker rooms, Vo Ag area and a couple of classrooms that will be transformed into the central office area.
Martin said the result will be a lowered total utility cost for the school operations because the system installed at the new building was designed for the fourth high school wing and should run more efficiently.
“A lot of that is difficult,” Martin said when asked how much in utility bills the district expected to save. He noted a commissioning firm is coming in to try and determine that.
The second issue is a 1.8-mil bond issue for a new gymnasium in conjunction with the new high school wing. The current gym would be used as a practice facility and a community gym. The new gym would come with two new locker rooms and storage area for physical education classes.
In addition the project would include an alteration to the current cafetorium to increase seating for the area for events on stage.
The new gym would seat 1,212 people with all seats on the sides of the gym. The current gym seats 1,200 and includes seating at one end in addition to both sides. The playing surface of the gym would be slightly larger at 50-feet by 94-feet.
That 1.8 mil bond would be for $3.595 million payable over 27 years. It would cost the property owner with a $100,000 home approximately $62.90 a year.