$57M project planned in Niles

The board still must decide where to put the new high school.
BY AMANDA GARRETT
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Niles City School District plans to put a $20 million to $24 million bond issue on the ballot in November to pay for the local share of a $57 million school rebuilding project, Superintendent Rocco Adduci said.
The school board met Monday morning with members of the Ohio School Facilities Commission to discuss details for the school rebuilding project jointly funded by the district and the commission.
The new plan
The meeting was in executive session and not open to the press or public, but Adduci gave details after the meeting.
The Niles project will consist of a new high school and two new kindergarten-through-fifth-grade buildings, Adduci said.
The commission will fund 68 percent of the project with the other 32 percent coming from the bond issue, Adduci said. The bond issue will last for 28 years, he added.
The school board will meet in executive session June 14 to discuss buying and selling land for the new high school.
The board will then act on the district's facilities master plan and bond issue at its June 22 meeting, which will be open to the public.
The board hasn't officially decided where the new high school will go, but they have decided on the locations of the new elementary schools, Adduci said.
The new schools will be located at the Bonham Elementary School and the Washington Elementary School sites. They will each house 610 pupils and will replace the four elementary schools now in service.
Once the new facilities are built, all the current school buildings will be demolished, Adduci said.
The new project will bring all Niles' school buildings up to date, Adduci said.
Alternative funding
In 2003, the OSFC funded 60 percent of the $14 million cost for the district's new middle school.
The commission is part of Rebuilding Ohio Schools, a $24 billion program designed to address the facility needs of every Ohio school district. Niles was among 11 districts, that received notice of funding last week, bringing the total number of districts to receive funds from fiscal year 2007 to 35.
The commission is offering state funding, but only if the districts can come up with their shares, commission spokesman Rick Savors said. The OSFC recommends districts for funding based on their property wealth or the district's demonstrated financial need.
Local districts must finalize a facilities master plan before final approval occurs to release the state dollars. This must be done by the end of June, he said.
After local approval, the commission will formally consider the building plans and projected budget at its July 20 meeting, and the State Controlling Board will be asked for its approval of the plans and budget in August, Savors said.
agarrett@vindy.com