Margaretta wants new school

CASTALIA — Margaretta Schools is pushing forward on its new facilities plan. At a recent public meeting, district officials and architectural firm Fanning Howey updated the community on the potential project. The firm has hosted meetings since 2018 to gather input about possible new construction and was officially chosen to be the project's architect. The presentation, along with past facilities presentations, is on the school's website, margaretta.k12.oh.us, under the community resources tab. A video recording of the meeting is on the district's social networking page. Recent assessments of buildings showed the middle school/high school facility isn't able to be effectively renovated due to its age. The worst portions were built in 1913, 1922 and 1953. A state assessment of Margaretta Elementary, however, showed the building's oldest additions, from 1959 and 1963, could either be renovated or a new elementary school could be built. After community members considered three possible construction options, most residents preferred building one campus for middle and high school students on a 93-acre property the district owns along Ohio 101 near the bus garage. In that scenario, an addition for elementary students could be built later. If funding allows, stakeholders said they'd want to construct a building for preschool through high school at that Ohio 101 site. But if there isn't enough money from the Nexus pipeline project, construction of the portion for grades 6-12 should come first, according to residents' responses. The preschool through high school building is projected to cost $51 million, while the grades 6-12 building is estimated to cost $39 million, Fanning Howey executive director Steve Wilczynski said. Superintendent Ed Kurt said the preschool through high school building is the most economical option. "We have to make sure, though, that the Nexus money will be supportive of doing that project," he said. "The least number of facilities you operate, with 1,100 students — if we can get them under one roof, we can be very efficient with how we operate." The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, a state agency, will pay for 38% of the project. For the preschool through high school building, that equals about $15 million. That state funding percentage, however, is expected to go down once Margaretta Schools receives more money from the Nexus pipeline project, treasurer Diane Keegan said. Right now, the district is slated to get about $4 million. When they do receive funding from the pipeline project, Margaretta officials said they want to allocate 25 percent to the district's general fund, 25 percent to cash reserves and 50 percent to facilities funding. Community survey A survey conducted by Fanning Howey drew 572 respondents for input on possible facility features. Most respondents said they were interested in the building to have spaces set aside for STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programming, wanted students to have more outdoor learning opportunities and desired that academic areas should be two stories to reduce space. The facilities project's preliminary timeline calls for the design phase to last through December 2021. If all goes as planned, construction could start by spring 2022 and finish up by fall 2023. Kurt called the project a "once-in-a-lifetime" situation. "We need everybody's input because the public school is a reflection of the community it exists in," he said. "As a community, we want to work together to get this right." For questions about the project, contact Kurt at ekurt@margarettaschooldistrict.com. Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood