Bowling Green City Schools Superintendent Ted Haselman addressed community concerns on a variety of topics during a question-and-answer session held during Tuesday’s school board meeting.
The topics ranged from safety features that might be found in the proposed new high school, to parking.
The questions addressed by Haselman were submitted ahead of time.
Regarding safety features at the proposed high school, Haselman said that safety is of the utmost importance, and that expected features would include hardened windows, natural and man-made barriers at entrances, and automated lockdown doors separating the academic learning areas from the more public spaces.
“There would be the ability to block off the more public areas from where the academic wings are at,” Haselman said. “It would all be automated.”
Other expected improvements would include scaled back or limited access points, a network-based whole school community emergency management system connected to local first responders, fire suppression throughout the entire building, and an alarm monitoring system. A complete safety audit would be undertaken during the finalization of the building’s plans with proper safety stakeholders, Haselman said.
One question asked why the proposed entrance to the school was so far from the new parking lot. Haselman said that a parking and traffic study would be completed by engineers during the next phase of construction, should the levy pass. It is likely, he said, that a small visitor parking lot would be added close to the main front entrance.
Another question asked what a new high school would offer academically that isn’t currently available. Haselman said that all classrooms would be designed for the appropriate size of modern high school classes with the 21st-century learner in mind, and be viable for activities like student collaboration, use and implementation of technologies, and cross-disciplinary teaching and learning. Science classrooms, he said, would have necessary tools to allow appropriate science labs, as well as necessary safety mechanisms, such as proper ventilation and fume hoods, and all classrooms would include proper instructional technologies, such as audio systems and interactive boards. There would also be proper space for special needs classrooms and related amenities, and a recording studio for performing arts and similar activities.
Addressing a question about the Wood County online levy estimator online, Haselman said that the bond issue would collect a fixed amount, $72.8 million – no more, no less. As property values increase, the millage on the bond issue would decrease, still resulting in the collection of $72.8 million. Even when property revaluation takes place in a further three years, he said, the levy would still only collect the $72.8 million total.
Another question was why, if the district’s five-year forecast shows that it has carryover funds, that those funds couldn’t be used to decrease the amount needed to build a new high school.
Haselman said that the $17 million carryover in the general fund is used to pay the district’s daily operating expenses, which is over $97,000 per day. He said that spending that money on a new facility would be similar to a homeowner using all of their savings to buy a house – doing so would decrease their monthly payment, but they would also find themselves unable to buy food. Haselman also said that as of the end of September, the district has $1.6 million in permanent improvement funds and $3.5 million in its capital project fund and that those monies also shouldn’t be depleted because the district has other facilities that need maintenance and upkeep.
Another question asked, if the city’s schools were built in the 1950s and 1960s, why the district has not been saving money since that time to build a new building.
Haselman said a school district should not be collecting and stockpiling money from community members for more than 60 years to build a new building at a later date. If the district had done that, Haselman said, the community would be rightfully upset.
Speaking earlier in the meeting, board President Ryan Myers said he wanted to clear up what he called misinformation being disseminated in the community. He said that throughout the process, the board has been open and honest about the needs of facilities in the district, and that there have been updates, public meetings and tours of the high school facility, in addition to Haselman’s question-and-answer presentations.
“This has been an extremely transparent process and we want everyone to be informed,” he said, saying they urge everyone to ask questions if they have them, and to email Haselman, the treasurer, or board members. However, he said that despite the transparency in the process, “there is a lot of misinformation being given to our community” through social media.
Among them were misconceptions about an air conditioning project, which some had opined would be torn out. He said the project totaled $3.26 million, less than some larger figures discussed online. He said that a part of the project, costing about $2.26 million, outfitted Kenwood, Conneaut and the high school. The only part of it that would be affected if the bond issue passes, he said, would be that part that would be in the portion of the high school to be torn down. He also said that 83% of that air conditioning project was federal grant funds, and that the project improved the temperature as well as incorporating filtration. Even at the high school, he said, that project would continue to be used for the next three years, and longer at the elementaries.
“This was and still is a good investment to keep” students and staff cool, and to improve air quality, Myers said.
Near the end of the meeting, the board additionally heard from several district residents but provided no responses.
Nate Rosebrock said that what he called the deteriorating conditions of the current high school make it harder to attract and retain new students, and that improved education outcomes go hand in hand with improved educational facilities.
Amy Simmons said that she has toured the high school, and has realized the building is “not suitable for modern educational standards. … The brick is crumbling outside, the heating and cooling system is outdated and inefficient.”
“This project is long overdue,” said Ryan Phipps. “I think it’s time for our community to do the right thing for our kids and our teachers.”
Richard Chamberlain asked what the life expectancy might be of the new building, and about the size of the proposed classrooms.
