Classrooms are small with an insufficient number of outlets, accessibility for students with handicaps is limited, and trying to get more than 250 seated in the cafeteria at one time is challenging.

Those are only a few of the drawbacks of the existing Bowling Green High School, said Principal Dan Black as he led a tour for fewer than two dozen people Wednesday.

DLR Group, in charge of the district’s Facilities Master Plan, gave a second presentation Wednesday, including a simulated flyover of the proposed high school and a look inside the building.

The tour followed the 30-minute presentation.

“There are some really nice things about the building but there are a lot of challenges our students and teachers deal with on a daily basis,” Black said.

The main competition gym is the smallest in the league, which makes it difficult to host district or regional sporting events. The physical space of the weight room, which is located above the auxiliary gym, is too small and teams purchase memberships to the Rec Center at BGSU to work out together.

Seven years ago the locker rooms were closed as the floor started to collapse, and the hallway down the vo-ag wing was retiled this summer after the heat below got so bad it started to melt the glue holding the tiles in place. Both issues were due to the building’s boiler system.

Black demonstrated at a drinking fountain how the water pressure falls when multiple toilets are flushed at once.

Extension cords and power strips are needed for students to charge their Chromebooks and some classrooms still have chalkboards. Science classrooms are ill-equipped.

A student who uses a wheelchair can only access one bathroom – at the opposite end of the building from the elevator.

The building can’t improve its accessibility without major renovations, Black said.

Black said the district just had a health department inspection and got a violation for not having a bathroom in the nurse’s office. The office is located in a former classroom near the main doors and while the location and size is perfect, it is not outfitted sufficiently.

Raul and Jo Ascunce were among community members taking the tour.

“We have a subpar building right now and students deserve better,” Jo Ascunce said. “We’ve seen what the schools have been like since we moved here in the ‘70s. … We need to do something.”

The couple attended Bowling Green State University and their children are BGHS graduates.

Raul Ascunce said Bowling Green needs to move forward and join the rest of the county in the type of facilities offered.

“I guess if that’s what it’s going to take to get there, that’s what we’re going to have to do,” he said about the $72.8 million price tag.

There are the same number of classrooms in the new design as in the current building, but they are considerably larger, said Christie Boron, K-12 education planner with emersion DESIGN LLC.

Curriculum delivery is all about student collaboration and being able to work in groups and the present set up doesn’t allow that, she said.

“Today’s learning models are so different from what this building was originally designed for,” she said.

This building was designed for a teacher who stood at the front of the room and lectured to a class of kids who sat in rows, Boron said.

“That’s not how teachers teach anymore,” she said.

“We have a whole lot more design work to come,” Boron said during the facilities master plan presentation.

Planning will take 18 months or more then construction another 18-24 months so it could be 3.5 years before students step into the building if funding is approved in November.

The district is asking voters to support a 5.5-mill bond issue that will raise $72.8 million for a new high school and activity center.

The cost for construction of the new high school is $62.319 million; the conversion of the existing high school to a new activity center is $4.981 million.

The activity center could potentially allow for indoor sports and esports events, adult education, a food pantry, family services, and space for community music groups to practice.

The demolition and abatement of the high school’s academic wings south of the cafeteria to prepare for the activity center is $1.238 million and construction of the new entrance to that building is $824,739.

A 5% contingency amounting to $3.346 million has been added to the project. If that money is not needed, it could be used for other facility improvements or to pay down the debt, said Superintendent Ted Haselman.

The availability of a continency in the event of overruns was one of several questions answered by Haselman.

He also addressed how the building will be maintained.

Any new construction that is part of an Ohio Facilities Construction Commission project is required by OFCC to earmark 0.5 mills for upkeep and maintenance of the building. These funds are placed in a special fund that can only be used for upkeep and ongoing maintenance of the new building, he said.

Haselman also shared his philosophy on building maintenance.

He said he cannot speak on how the district facilities were maintained in the past, but Band-Aids and shortcuts will not be considered.

“Our facilities are an investment and asset to our district, community and stakeholders. My job is to protect and maintain the investments and assets,” he said.

He said when asked if an issue with an air conditioning unit could be “held over” or fixed property, the decision was easy. Fix it properly so it does not have to be addressed again.

When he learned of a cockroach problem at the high school and was told it was being treated once a month, he said that was unacceptable.

“If we’re treating it monthly and we still have a cockroach problem, then guess what, that’s not enough. It needs to be addressed and addressed fully,” he said.

The building is now being treated twice a month with more adjustments if necessary.

A ceiling in an elementary gymnasium was fixed and fixed right so the issue wouldn’t happen again.

“While I cannot speak to what’s happened in previous years and decades, I can tell you tonight what will happen in the future. You have my word that I will make sure our district maintains our facilities the way they should be,” Haselman said.

The 178-page facilities master plan is on the district’s website, he said

While the emphasis was on the high school, the plan includes suggestions for the elementaries and middle school, said Dusty Lake, K-12 education client lead with DLR Design.

“Everything is scenarios and consideration based just to make sure all students have the same experiences and resources across the board, across the district,” she said.

Board member Tracy Hovest said she is excited about the new design.

“I think it’s going to meet the needs of our students … and allow for more collaboration spaces,” she said.

“It’s our kids’ future, it’s our community’s future,” Hovest said.

“I hope it’s going to draw the community together,” said Frances Brent, who taught in the district.