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River View faced with new ideas for updating buildings

| March 6, 2015

WARSAW – River View’s steering committee was set on building two new elementary schools, but a recent proposal from the Ohio Schools Facility Commission (OSFC) has them rethinking their plan.

The original plan was to use the OSFC’s 19 percent contribution to the project to build the new elementary schools and the district would work on renovating the junior high and high school on its own. However, when OSFC figures up how much funding it will provide a school for new facilities they consider the total school population and River View would actually be penalized for doing the junior high and high school on its own. Providing the district with updated buildings this way would actually cost more than what was originally projected.

If River View goes with the plan proposed by OSFC the organization’s 19 percent contribution would help cover the cost of building one new elementary school attached to the current junior high and renovations to it and the high school. This plan would cost River View around $42,098,859 and involve an approximate 5.7 mills levy that would cost tax payers around $15 per month on a $100,000 property.

The idea of one elementary school raised traffic and transportation issues amongst steering committee members, but they also came up with many pros. There would be no site preparation costs, the district would only be paying utilities for three buildings and there would be savings on administration and staff costs while still providing students with quality educational experiences.

The next step for the steering committee will be to hear back from consulting company Burges & Burges after it completes a community survey. Four hundred people in the district will be randomly selected and asked questions by telephone concerning River View’s plans.

The district currently operates four elementary school buildings, but no longer has the projected enrollment to sustain these buildings, which are aging and not up to handicap, technology or safety standards.

Category: Education

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