PERRYSBURG – Perrysburg Schools hopes voters find a smaller bond issue request more palatable.
On March 19, district voters will be asked to support a 3.50-mill issue that will raise $88 million to be used to construct a new elementary to help alleviate growing pains.
The request is 41% lower than the $140 million request that failed in November.
The district has estimated it will cost $35,169,617 for a new 800-student elementary to be built between Hull Prairie Intermediate School and the high school.
Another $25,163,914 is needed for additional classrooms and cafeteria space at Fort Meigs, Toth and Woodland elementaries and $26,544,544 for infrastructure improvements at those three schools.
“It is a big ask, and we recognize that,” said Superintendent Tom Hosler. “We’re simply reacting to what’s happening in the community.”
If approved, Frank Elementary School would continue to serve as an elementary school until the three existing elementary facilities are expanded and the new elementary opens. At that time, Perrysburg Preschool, which is currently located in leased space in Maumee and serves more than 200 students, will be relocated to Frank. In addition, Frank would be utilized for much-needed specialized spaces.
Once all facilities are complete, the district will reconfigure its elementary boundaries to distribute students more evenly across the four elementary schools.
Since 2013, the school district has grown by 17% or 862 students and growth is projected to be 2% per year through 2040, Hosler said in a February presentation.
If not approved, the district, which already has 12 trailers being used for classrooms, would need to purchase another 40 between now and 2040.
The plans to expand the high school are on hold as the district focuses on the elementary schools, Hosler said.
The elementaries are well beyond their capacities, he said, including a limited number of bathrooms and cafeterias not large enough to seat all students.
Enrollment at Woodland Elementary this fall was 595 (350 capacity). At Fort Meigs Elementary, it was 569 (capacity 475).
Frank Elementary has 481 students (400 capacity).
While Toth Elementary is not at capacity, the students from Frank will have to be distributed somewhere, likely Toth, Hosler said.
The projected number of students in grades K-4 in 2040 is close to 1,000, he said.
The ballot issue will add 69 classrooms to the district.
“Every time a family moves in, every time there’s a new street that comes online, we are essentially redistricting our school district because we look at not the nearest building, but we look at where we have space,” Hosler said.
In November, the cost to a home valued at $250,000 was $43.39 per month. The March issue would cost the same homeowner $25.52 per month.
If passed this month, taxes will not be collected until 2025. In the meantime, a 1.85-mill levy for the high school will expire in December 2024, with the final collection in 2025. In 2026, the total net increase to taxpayers will be 1.65 mills or $14.46 per month for a home valued at $300,000, according to figures shared by the district.
As more people and businesses move into the district, the amount paid by individual taxpayers will drop, Hosler said.
Perrysburg Schools already has 12 trailers, and the school district would need to purchase 40 additional trailers between now and 2040 if facilities are not expanded.
The cost of doing nothing impacts all of us, no matter what school you attend, Hosler said.
Last year, $45,000 was set aside to take care of capital outlay. That amount jumps to $1.6 million in 2026 and $1.2 million in 2027, according to numbers supplied by district Treasurer Randy Drewyor.
The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission will reimburse the district 30% of what is considered the eligible portion of the project.
If the levy fails, reapplication to the program will be necessary.
