TRUMBULL COUNTY Warren school planners debate use of space in new buildings

The number of schools will be reduced, but total square footage will stay similar.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Although the city school district is getting all new buildings, the square footage will be about the same -- meaning the new buildings may not be all things to all people.
"Square footage is based on student enrollment," said Linda Metzendorf, school board president. Current enrollment is about 6,900 pupils.
The district will reduce its 17 school buildings to six, but the square footage will stay about the same.
Although there are competing opinions on priorities for the new school buildings, Metzendorf and James Russo, executive director of business operations, stressed that because there is only so much space, there must be trade-offs.
If more space is going to be devoted to one area, extra space will have to be taken away from another area, they said.
"The new buildings will be much, much better than the old buildings, but will they be perfect? Absolutely not. There's too many trade-offs," Russo said.
Funding and plans
Voters approved a bond issue last November that will provide the local share of the estimated $170 million project to build all-new schools. The Ohio School Facilities Commission is providing about 80 percent of the project cost.
OSFC recommends classrooms of 900 square feet. Most classrooms in the current buildings are closer to 600 or 700 square feet.
The plan is to build five schools for kindergarten through eighth grade and a new high school. Current school buildings would likely be demolished.
Square footage of the new schools will be based on current pupil enrollment. Each K-8 building will be about 130,000 square feet; the high school will be about 320,000 square feet.
The school district has established committees to make recommendations for space in the new buildings. The project is in the first part of a multiphase process.
In this phase, called program of requirements, district officials determine wants and needs for the new buildings as well as curriculum goals.
Current status
Because construction of the K-8 buildings is expected to start before the high school, the K-8 committee is further ahead in the process.
"The emphasis by the committee is on academic areas because that's where we need to do the work in this district," Russo said.
Metzendorf agreed.
"We need to raise test scores and raise report-card grades," she said.
That may mean less space for offices or conference rooms.
The committee has listed four computer labs, a cafetorium with a stage, two locker rooms, one large gymnasium and a music room among its recommendations.
Board members are supposed to act on those recommendations at a meeting later this month.
After the program of requirements is completed, the next stage is schematic design, involving the actual layout of the space inside the buildings and incorporating recommendations from the first phase.
"We want to do what's right for kids first," Metzendorf said, adding that school board members want to ensure the buildings serve the community and its children for years. "It's our legacy too."
denise_dick@vindy.com