Ontario voters will decide if they want to pay a new tax to fund school renovation projects.
If passed, the bond issue would cost homeowners $187 per year for every $100,000 of assessed property value, according to Keith Strickler, superintendent of the Ontario Local School District.
“It’s a 30-year bond,” Strickler said. “It is 5.35 mills.”
The bond would generate $40.3 million over three decades, which would cover 68% of the renovation.
The other $19 million would be covered by state funds, which is already approved by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, contingent upon passage of the local ballot issue. Should the bond fail, Ontario would not get those state funds.
The total project, estimated at $59.4 million, includes significant upgrades to plumbing, site conditions and athletic facilities such as a new press box, concession building and tennis courts.
Heating and air conditioning are the greatest concerns
The biggest upgrades during the renovation will be to the furnaces and air conditioners throughout the district.
The newest HVAC system in Ontario’s school buildings was installed three decades ago. The oldest is more than twice that age.
“The components for these units are all obsolete,” Strickler said. “You can’t even get parts for this stuff.”
Upgrading the heating and air conditioning for Ontario’s nearly 2,000 students would cost about $18 million, which the superintendent said “is not going to happen” without help from voters.
“We’ve just been trying to keep it afloat,” Strickler said. “We do our best to get things fixed, but the problem is a lot of our stuff is at the end of its life. “
The same story holds true for the electrical supply, plumbing, roofing and other systems within the district’s two school buildings.
“That’s what the bond issue would help us address,” Strickler said. “Aging infrastructure inside the buildings.”
Ontario’s school buildings are aging
Ontario students are separated into four different age groups who occupy two buildings.
“We have a primary and intermediate all in one building,” Strickler said.
Those students, who range from preschool to fifth grade, go to class in Stingel Elementary School, which is nearly 70 years old.
“It wasn’t all that long after World War II when Stingle was built,” Strickler said. “That was in 1957, so it was quite a while ago.”
The district’s middle school and high school are connected as one building, but the two sections were built at different times. The first portion was finished in 1960, and the second in 1998.
“People don’t realize how old our schools are,” Strickler said. “We do a really nice job here of keeping the buildings looking nice.”
Contact Zach Tuggle at 419-564-3508. Follow him on X at @zachtuggle.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ontario bond issue would help renovate school buildings
Reporting by Zach Tuggle, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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