Fairfield Board of Education to Consider Change in Location of New Schools In a special meeting on October 29, Superintendent Paul Otten updated Board of Education members on the district’s 13-month-long search for land to build the district’s sixth elementary school. This progress report is one component of the $80 million construction project – co-funded by district taxpayers and the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) – that the district will be focusing on over the next 2 ½ years. The project includes demolishing and rebuilding Central Elementary and the Freshman School, adding a sixth elementary school, creating two middle schools, and reconfiguring the elementaries to PreK-5 buildings. With a budget of $1 million for elementary school land acquisition, officials considered five locations – four in Fairfield Township, and one in the City of Fairfield. Otten said each came with its own set of challenges, including: • Layout • Topography • Utilities • Purchase Price “It became evident that the district would exceed the allocated $1 million budget because of the uncertainty of site improvements,” Otten said. “We just are not sure what the excess will be.” Taking a line from an English Proverb “Necessity is the mother of invention…” Otten has asked the board to consider a new recommendation to use land the district already owns. Under his proposal, the Freshman School – initially planned to be built across the street from the Senior High School and connected with a pedestrian bridge – will now be constructed on the same land as the high school, but as a stand-alone structure. The elementary school would be built on the district-owned land across the street (originally the proposed site for the new Freshman School). There are several benefits to the reconfigured proposal, Otten said, including a savings of $2 million - $1 million saved from not purchasing land, and $1 million saved from not constructing a pedestrian bridge. These parts of the project are considered locally funded initiatives and therefore must be paid out of district funds. “This is a great savings for us. It allows us to continue to be good fiscal stewards of the taxpayers’ money.” He added that the savings could be redirected for other district needs, such as air conditioning the Middle School and South Elementary, the last two buildings in the district without it. By moving the Freshman School next to the High School, officials will be able to address traffic flow issues for parents and students in grades 10-12. Transportation will continue to be provided for ninth graders. The Board will decide on the recommendation to modify the site plan at its November 20 regular meeting. The district has until November 21 to notify the OFCC about the locations for construction.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 10:52:33 +0000
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