Buckeye Valley Local School’s transportation depot would be relocated if the Nov. 5 bond levy passes to make way for a new 1,200-student high school. The current high school would be renovated and retrofitted into a middle school for seventh and eighth grade students, and the current middle school would be renovated into an intermediate school for fifth and sixth grade students.
Glenn Battishill | The Gazette
One of the proposed designs of the new high school if voters approve the levy. The 1,200-student school would have the infrastructure and common spaces to expand to 1,600 students if needed.
Courtesy
Buckeye Valley Local Schools will be on the ballot next month asking voters to approve a 4.46-mill bond levy in order to generate $100 million to build a new high school.
Buckeye Valley Superintendent Dr. Ric Stranges said the need for the new building arises from the district’s growing population and overcrowding at the elementary schools. According to the Delaware County Board of Elections, the $100 million levy would cost $156 annually for each $100,000 in valuation.
If the levy is successful, the district plans to build a new 1,200-student high school where the current transportation depot is on Coover Road. The current high school would be retrofitted to serve as a middle school for seventh and eighth grade students, and Buckeye Valley Middle School would be converted into an intermediate school for fifth and sixth grade students. The new high school would have common spaces and mechanical infrastructure for 1,600 students so a 400-student expansion could be added in the future, if enrollment requires it.
“Our growth areas are really at the elementary, but a new high school provides more flexibility than putting a new elementary somewhere and redistricting,” Stranges said. “This allows us to maintain what we have but gives us the flexibility to move students where we need to. We want to be prepared for the growth. It helps academics, arts and athletics.”
In addition to the high school spaces, including auditoriums and gyms, the project would add a new field house and synthetic practice field. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Froehlich said more athletic spaces are in demand in the district.
“Our community is always here using our gyms and fields, and they can’t get into them so we have elementary students practicing until 10:30 at night,” Froehlich said.
Stranges said the current high school is 60 years old, and the project would give the district a chance to give students a modern learning environment.
“A lot has changed since man landed on the Moon,” Stranges said. “This provides our students learning space to help them be successful in the 21st century. Our high school has served us well. Our goal is to build a high school that stands the test of time like the first one.”
Froehlich, quoting former Superintendent Andy Miller, said the high school serves as “downtown Buckeye Valley,” and it’s a hub for the community.
“The high school impacts everyone in our district,” Froehlich said. “By having the showpiece with the new high school, it’s going to be some place I think the community will be proud to come to and our kids will be proud to go through. We’re projected to increase 31% in our high school over this 10-year period. This will allow us to adjust to accommodate that growth.”
Froehlich said the levy would be phased in and would be collected at less than half of its millage during fiscal year 2025 and would be fully implemented in 2026.
“We’re trying to soften that blow as much as possible,” Froehlich said, adding the levy would cost between $63 to $65 a month on $500,000 home.
Stranges said the district is aware of what they’re asking for and said “it’s definitely needed.”
“We’re cognizant of the economic situation with our voters,” Stranges said. “We’re trying to be good stewards of the taxpayer’s money. We know it’s a burden, there’s no doubt, but we’re trying to lessen the burden. … We get it. After reevaluation and things that have occurred, we’ve tried to minimize the impact. I hope taxpayers see we’re all in this together.”
Froehlich said the district would be able to “hit the ground running” if the levy was approved, and the goal would be to have the new high school completed three-and-a-half years after collection begins.
If the levy fails, Stranges said the reality of the situation is that the district will have to create space for students because they “really don’t have spaces for our young people.”
“We’ll have to create some spaces for them,” he said. “We have an issue, and we have to fix that.”
More information can be found at mybvls.org. The election is on Nov. 5.
Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903.
