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SALEM -- The Salem school district isn't knocking down all the existing school buildings in use, Superintendent Sean Kirkland stressed.
In an effort to dispel rumors he said are going around about the upcoming bond issue for construction of a new K-8 building, he reviewed some of the frequently asked questions about the project during his report at Monday's school board meeting.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding or misinterpreting of what we've put out there," he said.
According to Kirkland, the Ohio School Facilities Commission will cover 66 percent of the construction cost for the new K-8 school that will be located on the old Whinnery farm on the southeast corner of Salem. Not only that, but the deal goes on in perpetuity, meaning 30 years down the road, if the decision is made to build a new high school, the district will get that same rate, but that's way down the road.
In other words, he said there are segments. The bond issue on the ballot is for a K-8 building. The high school will remain intact.
"I don't want anyone to think we're tearing down the high school," he said.
As for the current elementary school buildings, the state provides three options: tear down, offer to competition or repurpose. He said offering to the competition, such as a charter school, isn't happening. That leaves repurpose or tear down.
"We believe we can repurpose Southeast," he said.
As for Buckeye, it's surrounded by residential so maybe a developer will step forward and want to build more homes there.
The plan for Reilly, which is next to Sebo Stadium, will be to tear it down, giving the district an opportunity to build a second entrance for the stadium and more parking.
If somebody comes along and wants to put condos in Reilly and has the money to do it, the district will consider it, but Kirkland said no such offers have come along.
The cost for the new K-8 building is estimated at $57 million, with Salem's share 34 percent, but that includes 16.5 percent to be covered by the Salem Community Foundation with a $10 million donation, 6.2 percent from community/industry public utilities, and leaving 10 percent on the ballot through the local property tax bond issue.
For every $100,000 in property home valuation, property taxes will increase by $96.25 if voters approve the school bond issue. That comes to $8.02 per month. For taxpayers who have the Homestead Exemption because they're 65 years old or older, the increase will be even less, about $72.19 per year or $6.02 for the first 10 years for a home valued at $100,000. After 10 years, the cost drops to $57.75 per year or $4.81 per year.
Kirkland also talked about the plumbing issues at the buildings and safety issues in the parking lots, explaining that the state recommends building new if the cost to bring an older building up to standards reaches 77 percent of the cost to build new.
In other business, Kirkland discussed the state report card results, with Salem earning 3.5 stars out of 5, which means the district meets state standards.
"We have some work we recognize we have to do," he said, referring to attendance and gap closing.
He said he's proud of how the staff worked to get there, commenting that he's not the biggest proponent of the state report card system, which are based on state tests on one day.
Kirkland also touched on a visit from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who toured the QUICKMed clinic at the high school Monday morning, saying it was nice to have him there. School Treasurer Mike Douglas said this will be the first full year of operation for the clinic, which costs staff nothing. He said more parents are taking advantage of having the clinic available and high school students can go there.
According to Douglas, attendance rates go up at schools where QUICKMed has clinics.