MONROE, Ohio — Whenever someone comes up with a new idea for a program for students in the Monroe Local School District, the first question asked is typically the same: “Where are we going to put that new program?” Superintendent Robert Buskirk asks. “There is no more available space.”
Students on the main campus already eat in the hallway, have art class in shared athletic training rooms and attend classes in converted supply closets. The district said its grade 2-12 building is already operating at 124% of its intended capacity.
That’s why Buskirk is putting a new bond levy on the November ballot for voters. The intention is to use the funds, along with state resources, to build a new high school at a yet-to-be-determined site.
“It will not be an increase to the taxpayers,” Buskirk said.
The current main campus’ bond levy from 2001 has a 3.50 effective millage rate. It expires in 2029. The proposed new bond levy has a 3.49 effective millage rate, equaling about $122 annually per $100,000 in appraised home value.
Though the new bond levy will go into effect next year, district treasurer Amy Moore said the district will cover payments until 2029, when the current bond levy expires.
“We will make sure to make those payments in those four years so that they are not collected by the county auditor,” Moore said.
Once the current levy expires, the new levy — if passed — will replace it. The district says the difference equates to a slight decrease in taxes, about $1 per $100,000 in appraised home value.
Earlier this year, the district was notified that it was eligible to participate in the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program via the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. It provides Monroe with $25.3 million in state funding for construction of the new building, provided that the district passes the bond levy to raise its local share of $36.75 million.
Buskirk said while overall enrollment has leveled off compared with decades prior, the plan is to build the new facility with some “room to grow.”
If the bond issue is passed, the district said the design phase for a new high school would begin almost immediately.
“If the bond issue doesn’t pass, and it’s not close, and the community sends us a clear message, then we would have to put in some stopgaps,” Buskirk said. “Modular classrooms would be an option.”
The district has more information about the bond levy here. You can read the official ballot language here under Issue 8.
