TRUMBULL CO. Girard forum: School is needed

The school district would have to borrow $5.4 million.
GIRARD -- About 30 Girard residents who attended a public forum Monday night agreed with local school officials on the need for a new high school to replace the current 80-year-old facility on Ward Avenue.
But many want details on tax impact and a possible site for the proposed $22.6 million school building, aspects that the school board is still trying to work out, said Superintendent Joe Jeswald.
The forum was the first of several in anticipation of a school bond issue vote in May. If it's passed, the school district will receive $17.2 million, or 76 percent of the cost of new construction, from the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission.
And Girard residents at the meeting didn't seem to mind picking up their share of the bill.
"I didn't vote for the school levy, but I'd vote for the bond issue," said William Fiedler, referring to a levy for school operating funds that passed on the third try here in August.
"I believe in the new school, because it's the future."
The high school's main building was built in 1924, and it was added to in 1942, 1961, 1993 and 1997 to include another classroom wing, senior and junior high gymnasiums and a maintenance facility.
About 900 pupils in grades seven through 12 attend the school.
Needs
Jeswald said that an OSFC assessment of the building revealed needs in security, fire safety, parking, classroom size, ventilation and the number of electrical outlets. Work is also needed to bring the school into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the assessment, the school would cost about $16.5 million to renovate.
"That's more than two-thirds of the cost to build a new school," Jeswald said. "When the cost to renovate is more than two-thirds of the cost to build new, the commission says to build new."
Plans for the new school also call for an increase in the acreage at its location. The current school property is four acres, far short of the 44 acres that state standards recommend as the minimum for a high school with Girard's enrollment, Jeswald said.
Possible sites
Two new sites are being considered, 64 acres at Liberty Park and 110 acres on the current site of the Mahoning Country Club.
Residents at the forum and school officials favor the country club site, which school officials say offers ample room for expansion and the easiest access for traffic.
"It would give us the room for whatever we needed to do for the next 100 years," Jeswald said.
But he and other school officials were reluctant to discuss the specifics of their interest, or whether the property is up for sale.
Other issues discussed included whether seventh- and eighth-graders would be able to have distance from high school students in the layout of the new building. (They would.) And whether state funds would pay for construction of a new football stadium. (They wouldn't.)
The site selection process needs to be completed soon, according to school board member Phil Fisher. The school board must submit a resolution to the Trumbull County Board of Elections by Feb. 17 to get the referendum on the May ballot.
Borrowing
The bond issue would let the school board borrow $5.4 million to come up with the local funds needed for school construction, in addition to the cost of the land.
"The site selection will have a big impact on the millage that we ask for," Fisher said.
If the bond referendum failed, it could be put before the voters again as early as August. The more times the measure is rejected by voters, the less state funding will be available through the facilities commission, Jeswald said.
"But it's not going to fail," he added.
The school board approved several measures related to the proposed new school in a brief meeting before the forum.
Stanec Consulting Group, which had representatives at the forum, was approved to perform environmental site assessments at the park and country club sites at a cost of $8,100. The cost of the assessment for the site that is not selected will be refunded, Jeswald said.
PSI Consultants of Warren was awarded a contract to do soil borings at the sites for a maximum of $15,552. And McKay Golf Properties was awarded the appraisal of the country club property for $5,400.
Jeswald said the appraisal will be done in the next three weeks.
The next public forum on the proposed new school will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 5 at Girard High School.