WARREN SCHOOLS Board OKs plan for new buildings

Pursuing a variance involves a long process, an OSFC official said.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- School board members agreed to a master plan for school buildings comprising five new kindergarten-through-eighth-grade buildings and a new high school.
After being in line for several years, school board and district officials learned last month that the district will receive funding from the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission this year to replace nearly all buildings with new schools.
The state will cover 81 percent of the estimated $170 million cost with the remainder left to local sources. The board will borrow its share through a bond issue, which is expected to be on the November ballot.
The panel had been expected last week to vote on a resolution to participate with the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission and submit a master plan for new buildings. That plan changed after a resident brought an option to preserve part of Warren G. Harding High school to the board's attention.
That option didn't turn out to be all board members had hoped.
An explanation
William Prenosil, OSFC planning director, said that if the cost of renovating a building exceeds two-thirds the cost of new construction, the commission recommends new construction. But if a district can present a compelling case for why a school should be renovated, OSFC will share in the costs.
A compelling case would be if classrooms meet current standards, a building is up to code and renovations could be done without extensive work.
Architects who are consulting the district on the project don't believe the school falls into that category. If the board wanted to pursue that option, it would have to go through a process to get a variance.
In order to have the state commission approve the project at its July meeting, the board has to submit its resolution by July 11.
Moving on with plan
Board members voted to continue with their plan for five K-8 buildings and a new high school after representatives from Fanning/Howey Associates Inc., the Dublin architectural firm that's consulting the district on the project, recommended it.
The board still has the option of exploring possibilities of preserving part of the old high school, which was built in 1924.
Lynn Gibson, board president, and Linda Metzendorf, board member, expressed some reservations, saying they believe they weren't told about all of the options at the beginning of the process.
Harding is "part of our community too, and once it's gone, it's gone," Gibson said.
Robert Faulkner Sr., board vice president, said he supports all new buildings as long as they are educationally sound.
Board member Dr. Robert Angelo said he's in favor of all new construction. Nick Frankos Sr., board member, who all through the process has advocated demolishing the old high school and building a new one, maintains that position.
"Tear it down," Frankos said.
denise.dick@vindy.com