Jackson plans to build school

A resident with a $100,000 home can expect to pay $88 more in taxes.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH JACKSON -- The prospect of a new high school/middle school in the district became a step closer to reality when school officials recently voted to reallocate some inside millage for the project.
At a hearing last week, the Jackson-Milton Board of Education voted to reallocate 2.85 mills and take out a 30-year lease purchase loan agreement to build the school for pupils in grades seven through 12. State law says the board can reallocate millage within a 10-mill limit without voter approval, Treasurer John Zinger explained.
The money would be combined with general-fund and permanent-improvement dollars to go toward the school, which would total about 75,000 square feet and cost an estimated $13.5 million, Zinger noted. The facility, which would be built on about 100 acres the district owns between Mahoning Avenue and Interstate 76, would have a capacity for 500 to 550 pupils, he added.
Zinger added that the board is considering forming a committee that would work to ensure the reallocated 2.85 mills would decrease annually, which would translate to reduced taxes for residents and be enough to pay the principal and interest on the loan.
The 30-year loan would cost $88 per year in taxes for someone who owns a $100,000 home, Zinger said.
About 100 people attended the session and most favored the new school, Zinger said.
For years, many people in the area have wanted a new building to replace the 93-year-old high school, which had experienced roof and several other costly structural problems.
At its regular meeting, the board voted to give the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County a certain amount of property to build a library that would be attached to the school. The project, estimated around $2 million, would be funded through the library system and would mean no new taxes for residents, Zinger stressed.
Other business
In other business, board members voted to place a $2.7 million bond issue on the Nov. 7 general election ballot. Money raised would be used to build a football and track stadium adjacent to the school, the treasurer noted.