Warren school board chooses site for construction of new building

One board member said education, not location, should be the most
important issue.

BY MAYSOON ABDELRASUL

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — The board of education, by a 3-2 vote, chose the current McGuffey School site on Tod Avenue Northwest for building its final K-8 building.

Board members Nedra Bowen and Linda Metzendorf have voiced concerns with the McGuffey site, and Tuesday night’s resolution did not change their views. They favored a Parkman Road Northwest location.

One reason the two board members voted against McGuffey is because some research shows there’s no room to expand, because of wetlands. The McGuffey Elementary building that has been there for decades will be demolished during the new building’s construction.

Joshua Noble, an environmental scientist with Wallace and Pancher Inc. of Hermitage, Pa., which assessed the wetlands, said there would have to be a physical barrier that separates the construction and the wetlands.

Noble did encourage the board to build at that site for educational reasons. “The wetlands at the McGuffey site are a learning tool,” he said.

A dozen community members in attendance at the meeting held up signs saying, “We want Parkman K-8.” One of them, Larry Dueber, said a “$150 million project is being run by five part-time managers,” referring to the school board.

Opponents of the McGuffey site say that Parkman is more of a central location to the students, the curve on Tod Avenue can cause problems for buses and that more businesses will grow and prosper on Parkman Road.

Both sites have wetlands. But the open land at the Parkman Road location “would create an unnecessary financial burden on the district through required mitigation, site dewatering and replacement of soils,” the board’s resolution said.

The layout of the new school at McGuffey would not disturb the wetlands, and therefore no mitigation costs will be added.

Board member Shari Harrell voted for the resolution. She said she had residents calling her, saying they are worried about who might be sitting in the business parking lots around a Parkman school, watching the children. There are no public lots near McGuffey other than the school lot.

Board member William Faulkner, who voted yes, said he is “baffled” about people’s reasoning for Parkman. “I have heard very little about the education on either site,” he said. Education should be the main concern of all residents, he said.

Board President Ed Bolino also voted yes.

In November 2003, district voters approved borrowing $40.7 million through the sale of bonds to finance the district’s share of a $153 million school construction project.

The Ohio School Facilities Commission then asked for a re-evaluation of school buildings, and a study showed that school district enrollment will continue to decline. It projected 1,660 fewer pupils in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 by the 2016-17 school year. Pupil enrollment at the end of the last academic year was 5,751.

This forced the district to change the plans from five new schools to four K-8 schools. The Lincoln K-8 school opened this fall on Atlantic Street, and the board voted last month to begin construction on the Jefferson site. The Williard K-8 school is projected to open next year.