Voters supported Bowling Green City Schools’ request for funds to build a new high school.
Unofficial results Tuesday from the Wood County Board of Elections showed the bond issue passing with 6,300 (58.53%) in favor and 4,463 (41.47%) opposed.
Voters supported the district’s 5.5-mill bond issue to raise $72.8 million for a new high school and activity center.
“It’s been a long time coming. We’re really excited for the students and the opportunities we get to provide them,” said school board President Ryan Myers.
“This time we changed everything that we heard people vote no for previously,” he said.
The superintendent has changed, the school board will change, the district is utilizing state funding and a detailed plan was provided, he said.
“We gave everything to the voters in terms of information and allowed them to make the decision based on the information in front of them,” he said.
“Our community spoke tonight and I’m very, very proud to say I’m the superintendent of Bowling Green City Schools,” said Ted Haselman.
Myers said the core facilities committee will continue to meet for the 12-18 months of planning that will be needed.
Groundbreaking is expected to take place around May of 2025 with a target opening date of August 2027. Selective demolition of the old high school would take place after the opening of the new building. A target opening date of the BGCS Activity Center would be the spring of 2028.
Myers said the committee will work with the academic departments to fine tune the details of the school and get as much feedback as possible from the community.
Property taxes will be used to fund the project.
According to the Wood County Auditor’s Office, a resident with a home with an appraised value of $100,000 will pay $194.25 more a year. (The $100,000 value is used to make it easier to determine costs for other home values.)
The owner of a home valued at $250,000 will pay $485.63.
The district selected a property tax to fund the project in May, before the county learned in August of the reevaluation of property.
At the time, it was the cheapest option, Myers said last week.
“The Bowling Green area taxpayers support the schools and care about the kids,” said board member Norm Geer after the win.
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 $7.043 million.
A 5% contingency of $3.436 million has been added.
If the contingency funds are not needed, they could be used for other facility improvements or to pay down the debt, according to Haselman.
The building has been designed to allow for future growth in the student population with bigger classrooms that will provide space for 21st century teaching. Building and site considerations include geothermal heating and cooling, renewal energy (solar panel ready) and indoor air quality.
The existing high school will stay, minus the north academic wings, and be converted into a Bowling Green City Schools Activity Center.
The music rooms, main gymnasium area, auxiliary gymnasium area, and the cafeteria area would remain.
Other local groups that serve students and the community, such as music and the arts, will be able to use the areas for practice and meetings. Options also include using the space for a family resource center.
Ohio Facilities Construction Commission requires the district to earmark 0.5 mills for upkeep and maintenance of the building. Those funds will be placed in a special fund that can only be used for upkeep and ongoing maintenance of the new building.
Seventeen percent, or $7.5 million, of the project will be reimbursed from the OFCC. The district would receive that reimbursement in five-10 years.
The high school, built in 1963, is not handicap friendly and has lacked air conditioning until this year when mini-splits were installed.
There is one elevator that is not centrally located for use by a student who uses a wheelchair; science rooms are not properly equipped; steam pipes leak; and classrooms are too small to best serve teaching for the future with technology.
“I’m extremely proud to lead Bowling Green City Schools,” Haselman said. “There are a lot of great things happening in our schools every day.”
“No matter what part of our district you’re from, you’re a Bobcat and we’re proud of all of our Bobcats,” he said.
This was the second attempt in one year to gain support for a new high school.
The $70 million bond request for a new high school that was split 70% property tax and 30% income tax failed in November 2022 by 457 votes.
Dating back to 2017, two previous attempts to fund a new academic wing, gym and cafeteria at the high school have failed. Those projects were tied to a request for one consolidate elementary school.
A third request, solely for one consolidated elementary, lost by 32 votes in November 2019.
