Belpre BOE meeting focuses on state of school buildings, plans
Members of the Belpre community came together Wednesday at Belpre Elementary School to discuss the current state of both school buildings in the district, as well as future plans. (Photo by Tyler Bennett)
Fanning Howey’s Educational Consultant Tim Hamilton speaks during a community meeting at Belpre Elementary School on Wednesday evening. (Photo by Tyler Bennett)
Members of the Belpre community came together Wednesday at Belpre Elementary School to discuss the current state of both school buildings in the district, as well as future plans. (Photo by Tyler Bennett)
Fanning Howey’s Educational Consultant Tim Hamilton speaks during a community meeting at Belpre Elementary School on Wednesday evening. (Photo by Tyler Bennett)
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BELPRE -- Belpre City Schools had its first of many community meetings discussing the current state of both school buildings in the district, as well as future plans.
The public meeting was held Wednesday evening at Belpre Elementary School.
Community members sat through a presentation from Fanning Howey's Executive Director Steve Wilezynski and Educational Consultant Tim Hamilton on one of the potential funding options for renovations or a new school building, such as through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC).
"The school is the community. Our intent tonight and in our subsequent meetings is to just engage with our community and find out what their wants are, what they don't want," said Belpre City Schools Superintendent Jeff Greenley. "What their cautions may be so that at the end of the day, we can have a consensus on a facilities plan and we can move forward."
Established in 1997, the OFCC is a state agency that provides school funding opportunities for Ohio school districts, and participation with OFCC is a district choice.
By using the funds, OFCC is co-owner of the school and the state will co-fund projects based upon a district's relative wealth in comparison to every other district in Ohio. The least wealthy districts are eligible for the highest amount of state funding.
If Belpre decides to go with this funding, the following guidelines have to be followed: two-thirds rule, 350 student rule, Ohio School Design Manual, and OFCC review process.
Funding from the OFCC is based upon a yearly ranking of every school district in Ohio. Belpre has an OFCC equity rank of 333 out of 610 school districts. If funded today, Belpre will have to provide 55 percent of funding, while receiving 45 percent from the OFCC.
The district facilities were assessed by the OFCC in April 2021. The OFCC assessment identifies how much it will renovate the current buildings to "like new" conditions. Then the cost to renovate is compared to the cost to build that same size building new.
Following the two-thirds rule, if the cost to renovate a building is greater than two-thirds of the cost to build the same size school then the OFCC recommends that the school should be rebuilt as a new building.
In the assessment, Belpre's buildings were at or above the two-thirds renovation cost threshold.
Constructed in 1969, Belpre Elementary will cost $15,966,844 to renovate, but will cost $24,165,370 to build a new school (a 66 percent renovate/replace ratio)
The Lawton Building (high school) was constructed in 1928, with additions of a junior high in 1952, and others in 1959 and 1964. It also will cost more to build a new school ($31,794,462) compared to renovating ($21,985,586) and has a 69 percent renovate/replace ratio.
The potential OFCC project is a new Pre-K-12 building and will hold up to 1,045 students. It would cost $22,850,924 for segment one project with segment two starting once the first one is complete.
The district would have between three locations for the new school: the current elementary or high school, or on school-owned property just south of Third Street.
One of the problems if Belpre uses the OFCC funding, is that the district will have to raise the funds for the first project first. However, funds from the state will have an unknown time period.
The next meeting will be on Sept. 14 at Belpre Elementary School at 6:30 p.m. There will also be a 30-minute tour of the elementary school so that the community can get a first-hand look at the state of the current building.
Also planned to be discussed is to prioritize issues and concerns, the pros and cons of the three potential sites, and master plan options.
"We appreciate the engagement, but we've always got space for more. So we would love to have more folks join, but I appreciate everybody," Greenley said. "There was a large group tonight that gave up their time and energy tonight to help us figure out where we can go and we just really appreciate it."