Margaretta Schools plans groundbreaking

CASTALIA — Margaretta Schools' facility construction process is about to begin. The school district will host its groundbreaking ceremony, rain or shine, at 7 p.m. Monday at 305 W. Lucas St., behind Lions Park in Castalia. During a June public meeting, Margaretta Schools board members approved the facility project's site/utilities work and preparation to occur this summer. This decision allows the building site to be prepared for construction. Approving the site work to happen this year could potentially save "significant dollars" in addition to a year in the construction schedule, district officials said in a news release. Other updates Margaretta Schools recently provided in the news release: • "The district has been setting aside funds received from the partial payments Nexus has made to this point — this initial portion of work is less than the set-aside funds." • "The site/utilities work will not be negatively impacted by a pause caused by further funding delays if that should occur (Nexus settlement on appealed taxes)." • "The design is complete and we are committed to this project, although we cannot control the timeline beyond the site work at this time." • "The district will be fully transparent to the community with updates released regarding the project status changes." "This groundbreaking will start an exciting journey for the district and this community, administrators said. "We thank our community for providing extraordinary support to our school district." Past action More than 50 years ago, Margaretta Schools bought about 100 acres of land, located where the future facility will be constructed, along Ohio 101. "The board members had the foresight to know that, eventually, we'd have to address facilities," superintendent Ed Kurt said at a December 2021 meeting. During this public gathering, district taxpayers virtually toured Margaretta Schools' new building for preschool through high school students. With its aging school facilities, Margaretta officials started to gather input from the public for a possible construction project a few years ago. Recent assessments of current district 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. Perkins Schools board member Ted Kastor, owner of Kastor Construction, a consulting business, will be the liaison between Margaretta Schools and Mosser Construction of Fremont, who will build the schools, and Fanning Howey architects. In this role, Kastor will monitor the construction schedule in addition to the project's progress and budget, among other duties. Design details The building, at the 93-acre Ohio 101 site near the bus garage, would take up more than 169,000 square feet. The building would: • Feature two stories in the main building; The left wing of the building's first floor would house preschool through first-grade students with middle school classes in the right wing. The second floor would have classrooms for grades 2-5 and high school in separate wings. • Contain locker rooms, two gyms, music and FFA rooms behind the main academic portion of the building; A gym for high school would have seating for 1,500 people with an auxiliary gym for elementary and middle school students nearby. • Offer a large outdoor courtyard that could be used for outdoor dining, student activities and other possibilities. Costs involved The project's total cost, including the construction of the new building and partial demolition/abatement of current elementary and middle/high schools, is about $49 million. 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 previously told the Register. When the school district does receive funding from the pipeline project, Margaretta officials said they want to allocate 25% to the district's general fund, 25% to cash reserves and 50% to facilities funding. Keegan explained why Margaretta Schools is moving forward with project plans when the funding isn't immediately available. She said the district didn't want to lose the state commission's 38% state payment of the project, the highest given to Margaretta Schools. "It was really important for us to lock this in and get it approved and get ourselves in line with the OFCC," she said. Since Margaretta's project was approved for the state commission's funding, the district has to show progress with the project, like hiring a construction manager, designing the building, among other tasks. The Nexus pipeline project, which was originally supposed to pay $29 million within the first five years to Margaretta Schools, might end up less than half of that amount after its appeals. It's not yet known when that money will come in. Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood - Appreciate news from your community? Click here to subscribe to the Register.