UNITED SCHOOLS Ribbon-cutting scheduled for elementary addition

The addition includes five kindergarten classrooms and an elementary office.
HANOVERTON -- William Phillis, executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, will be the guest speaker for the dedication of United Schools' $1 million elementary addition at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Superintendent Thomas Davis said the event will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Karli Schopfer helping to cut the ribbon. Karli is entering kindergarten and represents the fourth generation of family members to attend United Schools.
The school is at 8143 state Route 9. There will be tours of the addition, and refreshments served in the elementary cafeteria, Davis said.
He said the project began in January 2002 when school officials applied for a waiver to use its 2003 and 2004 state parity funds for construction.
State parity funds are for low-wealth school districts and are provided in addition to the state money all school districts receive, Davis explained. He said state parity funds can be used for capital improvements only if a school district applies for a waiver.
Five classrooms, office
The addition includes five kindergarten classrooms and a new elementary office. Davis said the addition allows the district to offer all-day, every-day kindergarten.
He said the district had three half-day sections of kindergarten and will now have four all-day sections. An additional classroom allows for growth, he said.
He said the new elementary office is located near the kindergarten entrance and provides better security for the district's elementary pupils. The office was previously not near a main entrance, he said.
The rooms were added to the west side of the elementary wing of the district's school complex.