Austintown school bond passes

May 7, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By ELISE FRANCO

The township’s school district will be getting its two new elementary schools.

A 2.9-mill bond issue was approved in Tuesday’s election, 56 percent to 44 percent. About 9,000 people turned out in Austintown to vote.

Schools Superintendent Vince Colaluca said he’s ecstatic.

“It’s a true representation of hardworking people,” he said. “The community believed in us, and they voted for it.”

The bond issue will allow the district to borrow about $27 million of the $50 million needed to build two new elementary schools. The state will fund the remaining $23 million.

The plan will unify the district into one central campus on property near Watson Elementary and Frank Ohl Intermediate schools, Colaluca said. The two schools will house students in kindergarten through second grade and third-to-fifth-grades, respectively.

The bond issue was rejected by township voters in November 2009, and Lori Gavalier, bond issue committee chairwoman, said she attributes this election’s success to a change in campaigning.

“I think we did a much better job of informing the voters. Last time we didn’t do well enough to let them know what the bond issue entailed,” she said. “We stressed more of helping our voters make an informed decision.”

Gavalier said the mood among the group of nearly 50 supporters at Barry Dyngles Pub began to change as the votes came in.

“Everybody was jumping up and down,” she said. “It started out as a nail-biter, but as the different precincts started to report it became exciting.”