In
May of 2023, the Board of Education approved a resolution to hire Bialosky and Partners Architects, LLC to provide the District with a facility condition assessment for Buckeye Elementary, Melridge Elementary, LaMuth Middle School and Riverside Campus. Throughout the course of the past few months, Bialosky conducted an extensive review of these buildings to determine the condition of major architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical systems as well as to document any deficiencies identified and to prioritize critical needs to address moving forward.
On
December 4, 2023, Bialosky presented their findings to the Board of Education at a Work Session. You can see the facility assessments and cost matrix for each building
HERE.
In
early 2024, the District began working on a new facilities master plan to help solve recurring issues with enrollment and aging buildings. The District put out a parent and community member survey in
May of 2024 to see who would be interested in joining a committee to help develop a new facilities plan.
In the
Spring of 2024, the District was awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to construct a Career Technical Education (CTE) building attached to the Riverside Campus. This roughly 4,500 square foot addition is scheduled to be completed and occupied by the spring of 2026.
In June and July of 2024, the District scheduled four focus groups amongst everyone who was interested in being part of the new plan to garner ideas and input. In August and September of 2024, the District hosted two more Facilities meetings with parents and community members to discuss both short-term needs and long-term needs.
In August of 2024, the District opened up its new security vestibules at Riverside Campus, LaMuth Middle School, Buckeye Elementary and Melridge Elementary. Every building in the District now has two layers of entrance doors with a transaction window in between. These updated entrances allow for visitors to be properly vetted between two sets of locked doors before entering the building. The transaction window allows for visitors to drop off deliveries without ever having to enter the building. The new security vestibules were made possible after the District was awarded with a $400,000 grant from the Ohio K-12 School Safety Grant Program.
In
September of 2024, the District released a
video presentation and survey to parents, community members and stakeholders to get more input on both short-term needs and long-term needs.
On
September 26, 2024, the Board voted to begin the work by building an eight classroom addition onto Riverview Elementary. Over the course of the next few months, the District and the Board will publish a request for qualifications for a design professional and a construction manager at risk to further this process.
On
October 24, 2024, the Board hired Then Design Architects (TDA) for the new eight classroom addition project at Riverview Elementary. On
December 19, 2024, the Board hired Cleveland Construction as the construction company to build the addition at Riverview Elementary.
Also at the
December 19, 2024 Board of Education Meeting, the Board voted to approve the District's Five Year Facilities Plan and Beyond which includes building a 12-classroom addition and new gymnasium at Buckeye Elementary along with updates and improvements to all facilities.
The Five Years Facilities Plan and Beyond can be seen
HERE.
At the
January 8, 2025 Board of Education Special Meeting, the Board voted to purchase approximately 3.65 acres of vacant land immediately adjacent to Riverview Elementary in the amount of $75,000 per acre (from Robert P. Sidley).
The District will continue post updates regarding our Facilities on this page as we go forward.
Facilities Plan History:Between 2008 and 2013, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) recommended the replacement of all school buildings within the District except LaMuth Middle School following several in-depth facility assessments. In 2014, a District Facilities Committee was formed, made up of community members and staff.
In 2016, a three-phase plan was created by the District Facilities Committee and approved by the Board of Education.
A 1.92-mill Bond Levy (Phase I) passed in November of 2016. The passage of this levy resulted in the construction of two larger elementary schools (Parkside and Riverview) while decommissioning four of the District's oldest elementary schools (Hadden, Hale, Leroy & Madison Avenue).
In September of 2019, Parkside and Riverview elementary schools opened its doors to staff, students and the community.
A 5.37-mill Bond Levy (Phase II) failed in May of 2022. Phase II would have allowed for the construction of a new 6-12 campus on the current Riverside Campus property. Due to the failure of this bond levy, Phase III was disrupted. Phase II would have converted LaMuth Middle School to a larger elementary school with funds received from the OFCC.