FAIRBORN — The Fairborn board of education took the first step to put a bond request on the ballot Nov. 3 that will mean a new school construction if passed.
The board on July 9 passed a “Resolution of Bond Issue and Permanent Levy” in the hope of continuing progress to complete the building needs of the district with a new high school while maximizing money from the state for new buildings.
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Based on phone and online survey data, the district will utilize the current Fairborn High School for the middle school and build a high school first. As part of the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission the ELLP program allows the district to continue work on the master plan and provide credit at a later date to build a middle school. With data and input from the community, the consensus was that the current high school will provide a climate-controlled and safe and healthy environment for our middle school students and staff on a temporary basis.
The ELLP program allows Fairborn City Schools to continue to plan for the future and to have a plan in place for a new middle school.
Passage of this levy will allow the district to receive about $33 million for the future construction of a new middle school through the ELLP program. It is anticipated that the entire millage will be 5.87, which will cost the average homeowner in Fairborn less than $200 a year ($17 per month).
“With completion of the new primary school building this August and the construction of the new intermediate building beginning this fall, this request allows the district to move toward new state-of-the-art facilities for instruction, sports and music programs,” Fairborn School Board President Pat McCoart said.
Superintendent Gene Lolli said, ”These new buildings will be some of the best in the Miami Valley and will provide our students, staff and community with the opportunities they deserve and a school home to be proud of. We are thankful for community support and we are ready to set the stage to move Fairborn City Schools to the next level.”
The next step in putting the levy request on the November ballot will be at the July 23 school board meeting, when the board anticipates passing another resolution to proceed with the ballot issue.