Officials cancel new Haddow building

Declining enrollment means five new buildings will be scaled down.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- One proposed new school building has been removed from the Youngstown city schools' $202 million construction/renovation list.
There won't be a new Mary Haddow Elementary School built, at least not now, said Tony DeNiro, assistant superintendent of school business affairs.
Declining pupil enrollment in the district is to blame, he said.
The building could get back on the program list should pupil enrollment in the district increase, DeNiro told the school board Tuesday.
Pupils will remain in the old Haddow building, he said.
There will be other changes in the building program as well, although none as drastic as the elimination of a construction project, DeNiro said, explaining that the Ohio School Facilities Commission, which is funding about 80 percent of the program costs, made the recommendations for changing the scope of the program.
In addition to removing Haddow from the list, the OSFC said the square footage of the five remaining individual building projects should be reduced.
That affects North and Paul C. Bunn elementary schools, Volney Rogers Middle School and Wilson and Rayen high schools. All are scheduled as total replacement projects.
What's been done
The district has already replaced Taft, Harding, West and Williamson elementary schools. A new East High School is under construction and the renovation of Chaney High School is well under way, DeNiro said. Both buildings are to open in the fall of 2007.
The P. Ross Berry Elementary Middle School is to open this fall and the Choffin Career & amp; Technical Center renovation is progressing, he said.
Removing Haddow from the list would appear to cut $7.2 million from the program cost, but DeNiro said the OSFC promised that the remaining individual building projects, which were to be funded at 2003 construction levels, will now be funded at 2004 construction costs, which will likely reflect an increase in project costs due to inflation.
The revised program budget and the exact scope of the individual building size reductions are still being worked out, he said. However, all special-needs and preschool program space requirements will still be provided, he said.
The buildings could get additions later to restore them to their original program size, if pupil enrollment should increase, DeNiro said. The buildings will be redesigned to allow for easy expansion, he noted.
Previous change
This is the second time since the program began that Youngstown has had to remove a building from the list.
The OSFC reviewed the program in 2003 and recommended that, because of declining enrollment, the replacement of Sheridan Elementary School be dropped, DeNiro said.
Pupils are still attending classes in the old Sheridan building.
Some site improvement work has already been done on the proposed new Haddow site. That will be maintained as green space that can be used for athletic fields, DeNiro said.
Youngstown has been losing pupils at the rate of about 300 to 400 per year, he said, adding that the OSFC is projecting that trend will continue through 2008-09, the projected end date for the building program.
The district has just under 8,900 pupils now.
gwin@vindy.com