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Milford Schools want to pass a $2.47 million bond on the Nov. 2 ballot to demolish the existing high school building and build a new middle school for grades six through eight.
The 30-year bond, totaling $55.9 million, would only be for these two primary purposes and site traffic/traffic flow considerations.
Additionally, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission has approved contribution funds of $11,559,512 for the project. These state matching funds must be used within 13 months.
If passed, the owner of a home with an estimated value of $100,000 would pay $86.45 in additional taxes.
Built in 1962, Junior High School has been talked about for almost two decades.
The Sun recently spoke to Superintendent John Spieser about bail.
Spieser said a school built in the 1960s was for students of the 1960s and 1970s.
“We are asking the community for a six to eight person building that will allow our staff and students to be flexible in their spaces, flexible during a pandemic – we really could have used a space like this now – but very importantly, allow our students to compete with the world. We are not in competition with our neighbours, we are in competition with the world market. So, our students and staff deserve a world-class facility and world-class education all rolled into one,” he said.
Spieser started as a teacher at Junior High School in 1994 and said he loved Junior High School, but “it’s about time”.
“They deserve an environment designed for 2025,” he said.
And it’s not like the District has abandoned the building; Spieser pointed out that they had performed preventive maintenance.
“It gets to a point where this facility is, how much money do you spend fixing a roof? Are you just fixing sections of it; are you fixing the whole thing? It’s not like it doesn’t hadn’t been maintained,” he said. “I would invite anyone to walk through this building now; you can eat on the floors, it’s pristine. It’s beautiful. lips on a pig for a long time.
Following the failure of the previous bail action attempt in the May 2019 ballot, then-Superintendent Nancy House established and participated in meetings of the Community Advisory Committee comprised of various stakeholders within the community , including parents with children in schools, business owners and those without children in schools.
CAT’s overall conclusion was that they wanted state funding to help with expenses, to only deal with one new college, and to reduce the term of the bond from 37 years to 30 years.
The amount of the bond itself has also dropped significantly, from the $98 million requested in 2019 to $55.9 million for that scheduled for the Nov. 2 ballot.
Milford Schools board member Dave Meranda, who also attended CAT meetings, said the board had met all of these requirements.
“We’re doing everything the community told us two summers ago, so we’re just following the community’s instructions,” he said.
In a quote provided to The Sun, Chris Hamm, chairman of the board, said buildings don’t necessarily bring better education, but can “restrict student education and growth.”
“Milford is consistently in the top 10 school districts in Ohio by most metrics and rankings, especially when it comes to life readiness. And is one of the best school districts for money management. (Balance Sheet and Auditor of State Awards) and Transparency (Ohio Checkbook, Live Broadcasts, Access to Board Agenda and Attachments Prior to Meetings, In-Person Since June 2020 with Public Comment),” Hamm continued. “No one wants more taxes, but a good school district fuels a community and improves assets. We have a 13 month window to use these public funds and only one November to do so.
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