NEXUS funds, state aid opens door for new Cloverleaf High School

WESTFIELD TWP. — A new Cloverleaf High School and refurbished a building that could become Cloverleaf Middle School may become a reality thanks to expected yearly revenue from the NEXUS pipeline. Responses to a recent community survey asking what to do with the expected millions in additional funding were overwhelmingly in support of a new high school, Superintendent Daryl Kubilus said Wednesday. A new high school, expected to cost about $36 million, is proposed to be built behind the current middle school building at 7500 Buffham Road. The current high school would then undergo a $25 million revamp and become the new home for Cloverleaf Middle School. As it stands, Cloverleaf could receive as much as $7.4 million over the coming year as a result of NEXUS pipeline valuation. However, that total could be reduced by as much as 38 percent due to the pipeline's valuation being disputed with the Ohio Department of Taxation, Kubilus said. "We're not going to officially move forward on anything until we find out what the actual valuation is going to be, but this is something that our community has told us they want and something the board would like to see happen," he said. The district is eligible for $24 million in aid through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, which essentially covers expected costs for refurbishing the existing Cloverleaf High School. Kubilus said the district is considering financing $38 million to $42 million to pay for the remainder of construction costs for the new high school as well as possible new athletic facilities. Yearly proceeds from NEXUS would then be used to pay back what is borrowed, he said. Kubilus said there are no plans to put a new levy or bond issue before voters to fund the projects. A definitive construction timetable or completion goal date has not yet been set, but the superintendent said the board hopes to choose an architect by the end of January. "We're able to do this without asking our taxpayers for new money," Kubilus said. "Our bond council is working through scenarios for what we'll be borrowing. It's going to take some time for us to know the results of the appeal process and what's going to be determined by the Ohio Department of Taxation." The NEXUS pipeline added $196,398,490 worth of value to the Medina County tax base this year, according to figures from Medina County Auditor Mike Kovack. Cloverleaf's expected yearly proceeds came out well above any other county school district due to the pipeline passing directly through the district. The pipeline's compressor station is at 8707 Guilford Road, Guilford Township, which falls mostly in the Cloverleaf school district and partly in the Wadsworth school district. OFCC evaluations of the high school and middle school determined that renovating the high school would cost 47 percent of the price of a new building while renovating the middle school would cost 70 percent of what it would take to replace it. Once estimated renovation costs exceed 60 percent of the cost of a new building, the OFCC recommends total replacement. "The OFCC is on board with the plan," Kubilus said. "But as was said, we're not going to commit to anything before more concrete information is available. It was consensus in our survey, though, that the community wants to see these construction projects take place." In December 2017, the board contracted with a research firm, Futuristics Inc., based in Reading, Pennsylvania, to conduct a random-stratified sampling of registered Cloverleaf voters. The sampling area included all 10 Cloverleaf villages and townships. The survey was administered to 1,011 community residents in September. The district had a 28.6 percent response rate. Survey results show 70.6 percent of the survey respondents do not have children in our schools; 81.6 percent of the respondents indicated they will support all four renewal levies Cloverleaf will have on the ballot over the next six years and a large percentage of respondents chose new construction when presented with four options for using the NEXUS funding. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.