Heath City Schools announced Monday it is forming a task force to collect input and explore options regarding its facilities, some of which the district says are outdated and need replacing before a projected increase in enrollment.
In a news release, the district said the group will focus on the “condition of our buildings, projected growth, curriculum needs and financial considerations” in a transparent process with no predetermined outcomes.
The goal, according to the district, is to develop a “community-centered plan reflecting collective goals for the future of Heath City Schools” and present it to the Heath Board of Education.
The task force is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. on both Oct. 16 and Nov. 13 at the Heath Middle School auditorium. The district is seeking parents, teachers, staff and community members to help fill 30 to 50 spots in the group, Superintendent Trevor Thomas told The Advocate.
Once those first two meetings are completed, the district said it will host two more on unspecified dates.
“Over the course of six decades, the needs change to educate kids, and the building cannot change,” Thomas said. “Those are challenges we’re running into, and obviously, the older they get, the harder it is for (buildings) to be efficient.”
The district wants new facilities to replace Garfield and Stevenson elementary schools and Heath Middle School, each of which are around 65 years old. Though they remain operational, the buildings are not efficient because of their small classroom sizes, age and increased upkeep and maintenance, Thomas said.
In March, voters overwhelmingly struck down the district’s proposal combining a bond issue and levy to build a new K-6 school. If passed, the district would have used money collected from both to build the school and pay for other costs associated with improvements.
Thomas isn’t sure if the district would propose something similar in the future, preferring the task force meet and discuss potential options. But the district surely wants a solution sooner than later — it’s projecting a 15% to 30% increase in enrollment in the coming years, thanks in part to the Central Park housing development in Heath, among others.
That development alone could add 250 to 500 students to the district's total enrollment, Thomas estimates. He said the district would start encountering capacity challenges once a substantial amount of homes and apartments are built in that area.
The district has enough space at the aforementioned buildings for its students but not for support staff at Stevenson. Special education teachers, counselors and speech and occupational therapists working at the facility are sharing classrooms and offices.
“Our special education population has increased quite a bit in the last 10 years, and the building wasn’t necessarily built for those needs that we have with that amount of staff,” Thomas said. “That’s just one challenge we’ve seen.”
The district’s best path forward to accommodate the projected enrollment increase includes building new facilities to replace its older ones, Thomas said. He acknowledged replacing them all at once is a big ask, so the district remains focused on updating one of its elementary schools first.
Thomas said the district believes “building the elementary school first is the most feasible plan” but that gathering information on how to replace the middle school later on is part of the information-gathering process.
“That’s kind of part of the process for putting people together — get a little bit more of that feedback from them, understand what their priorities are and then make a plan that falls in line with those priorities,” Thomas said.
“At this rate, we would not put a levy on this year. We want to take this year and do some planning and make sure we uncover all the variables and needs there and then put together a well-articulated plan.”
During the meetings, the district may also evaluate Heath High School, but it does not plan to replace it, Thomas said.
To join the task force, visit Heath City Schools’ website , call 740-238-7110 or email Diana Myers at dmyers@heath.k12.oh.us .
Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at jhperez@newarkadvocate.com .
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Heath City Schools forming task force to address growing district, aging facilities
Local News
