In addition to the closures of West Park and West Main elementaries, Ravenna City Schools might be introducing another building change.
To address the district’s steady enrollment decline and aging buildings, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission presented the district with multiple building plans in January. The board of education surveyed the plans and made a decision April 15 on one that would require no additional property or local funds.
The proposed building plan is a single-story, approximately 97,000-square-foot elementary school that would be built attached to the high school.
The conceptual plan was explained to the community April 22 in a State of the Schools meeting.
“We feel like we can build a brand new building at no new cost to our voters, and we think that's really important that our kids get what they deserve,” Ben Ribelin, superintendent of Ravenna City Schools, said at the meeting.
Due to being placed in fiscal oversight and closing West Park and West Main, the district plans to have just three buildings next school year. Kindergarten through second grade will be at Willyard Elementary, 3-6 at Brown Middle School and 7-12 at Ravenna High School.
Unless the district finds a way to repurpose the old buildings, Ribelin said it is currently budgeted for the buildings to have asbestos abated and then be torn down.
Along with a new building, some of the changes to the high school property would include moving the current west parking space to the secondary practice field and moving said practice field south, in between the baseball fields.
The high school bus drop off would remain as is, and the elementary school would have its own point of entry and bus drop off. While the buildings would be attached, only staff would be able to go between the buildings, not students.
Jeremy McDevitt, director of business operations for Ravenna City Schools, told the crowd that the district worked with architectural firm Fanning Howey to sort through the plans and come up with one that would be best for the community. McDevitt said their main goals were to find a plan that would maximize square footage and not add any additional local funds.
The funding would be split 76/24, with the state funding 76% of the new building and the district covering 24%. That would come from the buildings the district recently sold, as well as the renewal of its permanent improvement levy.
McDevitt said the district is not locked into anything, but will continue to work with OFCC and Fanning Howey to see what is best for the district.
Jen Fuller, project manager at Fanning Howey, said at the meeting that the plan is currently in phase one. They are confirming what the OFCC found for enrollment and square footage, as well as analyzing traffic patterns, to make sure the decision makes sense for the community.
To move into phase two of the plan, Ribelin said the district needs to renew its permanent improvement levy in November.
“We’re hoping that our taxpayers are going to continue to see the benefit of a new [building] versus putting that money toward a bandaid," he said.
The district plans to meet with OFCC in July after the project, as well as costs, can be confirmed. From there, Ribelin said they would work on a building and design plan, as well as ensure funding can be secured for the levy.
Fuller also said they have community nights planned to allow for questions and feedback. If the district does move into phase two, she assured there will be a lot of community and staff engagement.
A QR code was offered at the end of the meeting so the audience could voice concerns. Ribelin said they saw concerns regarding traffic flow and start times, which will be addressed at their next meeting on June 4, designed for community members to ask more questions as the district finds out more from the OFCC.
Ribelin understands the nostalgia associated with the old buildings, as he grew up in the district, but he also said he has to be realistic about trying to maintain aging buildings.
“If we’re given this, I like to call Willy Wonka’s golden ticket from the state, to be receiving this large amount of money… we have to take advantage of that,” Ribelin said.