Buckeye approves campus facilities master plan

YORK TWP. — Buckeye Local Schools took a step toward its goal of putting a bond issue on the ballot in November. The Buckeye Board of Education approved its campus facilities master plan during its meeting on Tuesday. The plan is a two-phased approach. The first phase comprises constructing an approximately 156,000-square-foot high school for grades nine through 12, which includes infrastructure for a future second phase. The building would also have a competition gymnasium and a 600-seat auditorium. Demolishing the current junior high school, improving traffic flow on campus and moving the alumni stadium would also take place in phase one. Buckeye Superintendent Jeff Stanton said phase one leads into phase two. The existing high school would be renovated to house junior high school students until phase two. Then, a new junior high school addition would be constructed in the second phase, which would occur at an unknown later date. Phase one's expected total cost is $77 million, which is broken down to $8 million from the general fund, $10 million from a COPS loan and a $59 million bond issue. It is compared to the failed bond issue from the May 2023 election, which was $80 million to construct a shared seventh through 12th grade school. "I'm not being flippant on $59 million, and I realize the ask that is," Stanton said. "That is a significant reduction (from last May.)" If passed, the expected bond issue would be 4 mills and last 35 years, he said. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay $140 annually. "The cost to build is only going to increase, and the need to do something isn't going away," Stanton said. "The most cost-effective time to build is right now. The only way to lower the cost for the project at this point would be to take things away." On Wednesday, the board also approved an amended Expedited Local Partnership Program agreement with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. Board of Education President Seth Kujat said the agreement was originally signed in 1999, and it states the district would eventually get reimbursed from the state if the district constructs a new school. "That will include about a $2.6 million reimbursement from the work we did in 2002 to build the elementary plus approximately a $9.7 million reimbursement on top of that for the new high school," he said. "We will be reimbursed that dollar amount once our name gets to the top of the list at the state level, which would be approximately 10 years, roughly or so." The current high school will be a better learning space for junior high students than the existing school, Kujat said. A phased plan will also allow them to adjust a new junior high school's capacity based on later changes in enrollment. "It's not a responsible thing to do nothing," board member Barbara Gunkelman said. "We have to do something, and we have to plan for the future." Approving the plan just means the board agrees on a concept, Kujat said. There are still a lot of decisions to be made along the way, like determining a site location and finalizing renderings. "This is the first step in doing something," Gunkelman said. "I think it's a good first step." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.