By James Massara
The Wynford Board of Education voted to place an additional tax levy on the November general election ballot Wednesday morning.
The 5.9 mill tax will be for the construction of a new junior high and high school building and the renovation of the current cafeteria, gymnasium, and auditorium.
Superintendent Fred Fox said the main area of concern is the modular building, which currently houses the junior high classrooms. He said the structures physically are deteriorating and are expensive to heat in the winter. He said the high school portion of the building also chronically leaks when it rains.
Fox said the plan would be to demolish the current building, but keep the cafeteria, gym and auditorium and create a Wynford Community Center.
Built in the 1960s, the Wynford Junior High and High School building is among one of the oldest in the immediate area, according to Fox.
Fox said the tax would cost Wynford Local School District residents $220 for every $100,000 of property value they own. Fox said the average home is worth approximately $107,000. Tax collection would begin in 2018 and last 37 years.
According to a handout provided by Fox, Wynford residents currently pay less in property taxes than all other Crawford County schools. Residents in Wynford currently pay less than residents in the Galion City Schools District by $402 and still will pay $177 less if the levy is passed. Galion is the next closest tax amount of the five other Crawford County schools.
Fox said when the Wynford Elementary building is paid off in 2024, the amount of savings will increase to $290 compared to what is paid at Galion.
Fox said he hopes district residents see the value of the new proposed building and will vote for the new levy. In 2011, district residents voted down a levy for a similar project.
The public is invited to an unveiling of a rendering of the new proposed building Aug. 8 at 7 p.m.