WARREN COUNTY, Ohio — The Warren County Career Center is proposing a levy this March to fund an expansion project.
The center houses career-technical programs like engineering and construction for most school districts in the county, as well as adult education.
WCCC said its current facilities are at capacity and can't meet the needs of a growing student population.
"Not just here at the Warren County Career Center, but all over the state we’re seeing a huge demand for career and technical education," said WCCC Superintendent Joel King.
King said for the current school year, WCCC received 800 applications but could only admit 534 new students because of building capacity limitations.
The administration is proposing a $67 million bond levy, which means the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $28.63 more a year and owners of a $200,000 home would pay $57.26 more a year if the levy passes.
King said they also proposed the levy because it would help WCCC adapt to economic growth in Warren County and allow them to expand program offerings.
Some, like Ray Warrick, aren't sold on it, though.
“I’m 100% behind expanding vocational career training," he said. “What I don’t like is the way they go about doing it.”
Specifically, Warrick said he doesn't like that there are no renderings or plans to show voters exactly what they're paying for.
"I think they should have a committee made up of community members and sit down and say, here's how much building we need and then I think they should go ahead and have the plans drawn up and then put it out to bid," he said.
King said they do have some renderings that can act as an example, but they're working with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission on the project. It's paying about 25%, according to WCCC. He said because of this, they have to follow the OFCC's process, which means securing funding before finalizing designs.
“We do know that the building would be on this campus and we would take this existing facility and use it to do adult education during the day and at night," King said.
WCPO asked King why Warren County taxpayers have to pay about 75% of the cost of this project. He said it's because of the way OFCC operates.
The percentage that they come up with is based on a lot of factors and so each project around the state that OFCC works with has a different percentage that they are able to fund," he said. "We do realize this is a huge ask for our community and we just, we want to be able to provide as many opportunities to students to receive training here in Warren County, to be able to get a job in Warren County and hopefully stay and live in Warren County."
The levy was already rejected by voters in November and King said if it's rejected again, the board could consider other options for the future of WCCC.
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