A rendering of the new Lake Elementary.
MILLBURY – When Lake Local Schools students and staff return from spring break, they will immediately notice a decrease in parking.
The school will lose more than 100 parking spots – everything to the north of the main drive from the middle school to Lemoyne Road – as construction of the new elementary begins.
The new two-story school will be 110,000 square feet and have 53 classrooms, compared to the current 32.
It will be built on the side of the existing parking lot.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” said Superintendent Jim Witt at Wednesday’s school board meeting.
“We’re not going to be short of parking spots for staff and kids,” he said. “The problem is going to be keeping cars off Lemoyne Road in the morning and afternoon because we’ve got such a large number of (parent) drivers.
“It’s going to take some coordination on our part,” he said
Board member Tim Krugh said there will parking in front of and to the south of the high school, buses will be moved and kept at a site off of Interstate 280, and staff will be asked to park where the buses used to be.
Krugh said the construction committee has met with teachers to explain what their parking is going to look like when they return to school on April 11.
“It will be all hands on deck out there trying to help those people (park),” he said.
“If we get through that construction phase, we will end up with as many parking places or more parking spaces,” he said.
The new elementary will be a PK-6 building. The existing elementary houses PK-4, with grades 5-7 in the middle school and grades 8-12 in the high school.
The building should open in fall 2024.
Also at the meeting, the board:
• Approved a five-year shared personnel agreement between Lake and Northwood schools for a transportation director.
The two districts have shared the director for the two years, and it has worked well, Witt asked to extend it.
• Approved the retirements of Rick Brimmer, instrumental music teacher, and Michael Densic, middle school teacher. Both have more than 30 years with the district.
• Learned from interim Treasurer Cajon Keeton that he secured a higher interest rate for the district’s operating account. It has gone from 0.01% to 5.25%, which will mean additional $170,000 in earnings.
His department also looked at excess costs from open enrolling students into the district and has charged another $120,000 to cover the costs of special services.
That income is being offset by equipment purchases, which is around $250,000 over budget, Keeton said.
• Increased the sub rates for the cafeteria, playground monitor and library/study hall to $10.10 from $9.63.
• Accepted donations of $45 from Lisa Braatz and $255 from Michelle Hosey for Camp Michindoh; $150 from St. Paul’s Church in wellness items for students; $200 from Girl Scout Troop 10311 for food for Glider Packs; and $1,553 from S&G Management LLC for the holiday sharing program.
• Learned shirts will be sold at the Saturday basketball to raise funds for Andrea Brady, fourth-grade teacher at the elementary, to help with medical expenses.
