Buckeye Board of Education approves self-funded plan for new facility

YORK TWP. — The Buckeye Board of Education voted to approve a self-funded plan that would address facility concerns in the district during its meeting Monday. The approved plan involves renovating the current high school to house junior high students and constructing a new high school for grades nine through 12. The alumni stadium will remain at its current location. "This plan is solid," Board President Barbara Gunkelman said. "It is not everything we ever dreamed about for our students. It's conservative. It's adequate, and it's appropriate. It requires no new taxes." The new high school will be at Wolff Road and Columbia Road. The district stated the school will feature modern classrooms, updated academic spaces for arts and music and a gymnasium for student and community use. "This is an important step forward for Buckeye," Superintendent Jeff Stanton said. "Our students deserve safe, functional and inspiring learning environments, and this plan allows us to provide them while honoring our community's commitment to avoiding additional tax increases. We are grateful to everyone who contributed their feedback and helped shape a plan that truly reflects Buckeye's values and priorities." The project would be funded with about $40 million in cash reserves and a 20-year, $23 million Certificate of Participation loan. The district stated its funding strategy is based on years of conservative financial management, the growth of cash reserves, increased interest earning and the retirement of existing debt from Buckeye's elementary school project. "Financial discipline has been the cornerstone of making this possible," Treasurer Mark Donnelly said. "Through careful planning and leveraging our available resources, the district can move forward with a facilities solution that is both fiscally responsible and future-focused." After the board's decision to approve the plan, some community members at the meeting applauded. Board member Roy Salazar said he talked to more than 1,000 people over the last few weeks, and the feedback has been 90 percent to 95 percent positive regarding the plan. "It's best from the staff's perspective," he said. "It's best for Buckeye from a financial perspective. It's best from an academic perspective. It's best from a facilities perspective. It's best from an asset utilization perspective since we're going to get more useful life out of this high school." The district stated it will continue to share updates to the community as the project progresses. For more information about the facility plan, visit tinyurl.com/4ew4fpev. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.