Conceptual Drawing of the new K-8 building

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Garman-Miller has produced a conceptual drawing of Greenville City Schools' new K-8 grade building. This conceptual drawing is not final. Necessary constructural changes may be made at the time of completion.  A conceptual picture of the site footprint is available along with bond issue information at the Citizens for Quality Greenville Schools blog site, pictures and drawings page

Do Quality Schools Have an Impact on Economic Development?

 

By Marc Saluk, Darke County Economic Development Director

I’m often asked my opinion about the correlation between new school buildings and economic development because of my job. But, despite the title, I am no expert on the matter. Near as I can tell, no one is. It’s a tough correlation to make statistically because there are a large number of factors that define both quality schools and economic development.

However, that doesn’t mean that economic development directors don’t get a good insight into the matter. Why is this? Because it’s our job to speak regularly to those that run the nations’ industries. While it may not breakdown neatly into statistical formula, direct feedback from decision makers is an excellent indicator about an issue.

Based on this, I can definitively state that school buildings DO matter. At least in the minds’ of some very key people-- those that create jobs.

I know they matter because I speak all the time to plant managers’ who decided NOT to reside in Greenville because of the older school facilities. Why do so, they say, when virtually every other district in the region has a modern facility, equipped with the technology it now takes to prepare students for the world?

I know they matter because of the number of executives who have told me their spouse’s were not impressed by their initial drive-by of the district’s buildings. I know this because of the number of plant managers’ that tell me it’s tough to recruit young professionals because they are turned-off by the district’s older facilities.

These are not my opinions. These are the opinions of many who view the school district from the outside and make decisions that affect local employment. Agree with them or don’t. At the end of the day, their opinions do impact our community in a very real way.

If I had to guess, I would say their opinions are based on more than the buildings themselves. Speaking with them also seems to indicate that the lack of new buildings also speaks to the community’s pride. Again, this may be unfair but…well, you know what our parents always told us that life was…

What’s MY opinion? I’ll do something unusual here and quote myself because I think I summed up my thoughts pretty well in an article written by The Advocate several months ago. At the risk of being a bit self-indulgent, here I go…quoting me:

“It’s hard to directly and definitively correlate jobs and school buildings.  However, there is little question about two things: job retention and growth is tied in part to local education and work force quality. And, the quality of that local education and work force is, in these days of increased technology in the classroom, tied in part to the existence of modern facilities for a school district.”

New resources for our children AND a better prospect of a good job for them in the future? To me, the combination makes a new school facility a tough thing to vote against this November

Yard and Door Signs

The committee has received a shipment of Yard Signs as well as cling signs which will cling to any window surface but not adhere to it for easy removal.  You can pick get one by emailing the committee at letsbuilditgreenville@gmail.com  The signs look like this, help support Greenville City School district.

Some Clarification by the Architects on Square Footage and Sidewalks

School Board Member Joe Payne secured this information from the Architects Garman/Miller concerning many of the problems discussed this week on Shout Boxes, email and other places.
From Rudy Quinter:        
1.  The new building is planned to be larger than the totals of the older, replaced buildings.  This is due to several causes, primarily Ohio School Facility Commission (OSFC) requirements for room sizes for classrooms, labs, special education, art, music, media center, etc. Current classrooms are smaller than recommended and all others spaces are also undersized.
Additionally, we have planned an 1800sq. ft. performance stage off the cafeteria and 3 Physical Education(PE) gyms:  a 3500 sq. ft. for little kids and wrestling, a 7300 sq. ft. gym for grades 3-5 and volleyball, and an 8700 sq. ft.  gym for grades 6-8 PE and basketball.  
A study hall is planned at 1800 sq. ft. which can also be used as a community room.
2. The exterior materials have not been selected yet, but we would anticipate a combination of mostly brick and split-faced block.
3. Utility costs for several of our recently completed schools are running under $1.00/ sq. ft, so yes we are comfortable with that projected cost.
4. Sidewalks along the street are not required by OSFC.   If required by local codes or if desired by the school district, then we can use monies from the project budget to install them.
A question came up the other day about sidewalks on the opposite side of the street.   Even if required by local regulations, we can not use project funds for that.  
Only sidewalks on school property are fundable.
5. Project costs:
        Total K-8 building costs    $57,525,643
        State share                        $18,192,750
        Local share                        $39,332,893
        HS renovation funds            $5,667,107
        Total bond issue amount    $45,000,000

More Answers to Your Questions!

 
As Questions are emailed to us they will be posted on the main page and after a week will be reformatted and moved to he Q&A page. Check there first for any questions you may have.
 
Number of Classrooms:

The question was asked about how many classrooms would be in the building and we can give a partial answer.  Actual classrooms isn't known till the levy passes and the drawings are done.  We do know the Square Footage of each area and they are listed below:

Academic Core Spaces            76,960 sq ft

Special Education Spaces        11,840 sq ft

Media Center Spaces             10,351 sq ft

Visual Arts Spaces              5,800   sq ft

Music Spaces                    8,200   sq ft

Physical Education Spaces       27,675 sq ft

Number of Students:
The other question that came up today was how many students would use the building and it is here: Projected Enrollment - 1,805 students


Drawings:
People were also asking today about conceptual drawings of the new building.  Many are of the opinion that the committee is hiding something, and that is not the case.  Traditionally, drawings of the building, classrooms and other areas are not drawn till the money is approved for the project.  The site plan drawing is on this blog with an explanation.  When you build a new house, the first thing that is done is to secure financing, then have plans drawn.  This is no different.
Everyone should understand that this blog belongs to the Citizens Committee for Quality Greenville Schools.  The committee is composed of your neighbors and want every bit of information available.  That is so you can have it also.  Right now it's all on here on one page or another.

Thanks for all of your questions and please send any more that you have.

New Info on the School Project.

Many people have asked a lot of questions about the new school. We tried to answer all of them as best we could when they were asked but a couple took some research and/ number crunching but we have some new info now that should help answer those questions.  Our Superintendent, Susie Reigle has met with the City of Greenville as well as the architects about the project recently and in particular about the concerns about the sidewalks, turn lanes, etc.            
INFRASTRUCTURE
  She issued this statement this morning on that: "The City of Greenville is working closely with Greenville City Schools and Garmann-Miller (architects for the proposed OSFC project) to determine the need for sidewalks and roadway alterations pending approval of the bond issue for the construction of a new K-8 facility on North Ohio Street.  In a recent meeting, it was clarified by the architects that sidewalks and turn lanes are already included in the project costs that would be located on the school property.  The results of a traffic impact study will determine the need for additional sidewalks off the school property."      -Susie Riegle, Superintendent, Greenville City School District.  
OPERATIONAL COSTS 
The other question that has been asked deals with the operational cost of the new building versus the current buildings.  At the present time we pay for operational costs of East, South, Woodland Heights, Jr. High, Sr. High, Career Tech Center, Memorial Hall and the High School.
The total square footage that we now operate is 392,652.
The Original Cost to Operate All  Building = $545,102.44.
Elimination of Woodland, East, South and the Jr. High brings the total existing square footage down to 173,615 sq. ft.

Memorial Hall right now with 45,000 sq. ft. costs $1.59 per sq ft to operate.
Greenville High School right now with 142,689 sq. ft. costs $1.25 per sq ft to operate.
Career Tech Center right now with 31,348 sq. ft. costs $.63 per sq ft to operate.
These figures show the difference in the age of the buildings and the construction techniques.  The Career Tech building is the newest and cost the least to operate.

The proposed K-8 building with 254,778 sq. feet  is projected to cost $1.00 per square foot to operate.
The operational cost savings over a five year period will be around $105,000. That is just an estimate.  Many things in the new building can be.

What's Happening Now?

The Citizens for Quality Greenville Schools committee has been working hard getting ready for a big push as we move toward the November 8, 2011 election.  There is a lot at stake as we only have a year to come up with funding for a new school or face loosing the state funds that are already allocated to us.  There are a couple of big items right now that are coming up.

Yard Signs:  We have received the yard signs and they will be distributed after our meeting on October 6.  This means they will be out in people's yards for one month before the election.  We already have over 80 people who have requested a yard sign.  If you would like to support the project with a yard sign, click on the box in the upper right hand corner of the blog and just send us an email requesting one.  Make sure to include your name and address.

Walking Campaign:  The publicity committee will be mounting a street by street campaign soon to get the message out and distribute information.  If you are interested in more info or would like to help, send us an email.

Presentations:  The committee has available a presentation for delivery to your group.  It is a short presentation with time for questions.  Again, send us an email with your information and we'll be in contact with you to set up a time for the presentation.

Our Kids Are Getting Better All The Time

 This week, the subject of this article will sway a little away from the building improvements a bit and focus on some good things that have been happening academically here in the Greenville City Schools.

Greenville Schools offers its students rigorous academic programming.  As a result, the district earned an Excellent rating from the Ohio Department of Education for the 2010-11 school years.   The hard work of students and staff has resulted in many success stories.  The Greenville High School AP Calculus students earned outstanding scores on the AP test they took in May.  With the instruction and guidance of GHS Math teacher, Mr. Bob Batty, 33 of 38 students who took the AP Calculus test passed, for an 87.9% passage rate.  This is the most students we have had attempt the AP Calculus test in several years and our GHS students more than exceeded the national average passage rate.  Five is the highest score a student can earn on the test, and 39.4% of our students earned a 5, with the national average being 21% of students earning a 5.  One third of our students earned a 4 on the test, with the national average being 16.4%. A passing score of 3 or higher can equate to college credit (usually 4 to 8 credit hours).

Next, the Greenville High School Computer Information Systems (CIS) program continues to provide compelling learning opportunities to students this school year.  While providing computer technical support in our schools is part of the CIS program, our district provides four unique paid internships to four CIS students under the direction and supervision of CIS teachers, Mr. Nathan Sharp and Mr. Robert Warner.  All CIS students have the opportunity to apply for an internship position, and following a thorough interview process conducted by Mr. Jon McGreevey, our district hired these students to perform computer technical work throughout the district for up to 10 hours per week.  These tech interns have set up computer labs, formatted computers, installed software, and installed new network cables just to name a few jobs.  They were also able to take part in SmartBoard training with staff members before school started.  Since then, they have been able to go to the classrooms and help teachers with the new SmartBoard technology that was installed in the Middle and Junior High Schools.   During the first teacher workday, a student intern was on hand at each of the buildings to provide another level of support for any staff member experiencing technology problems.  This real-world/hands-on experience was unique enough to get the attention of the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) as the CIS student internship program has been selected to participate in the 2011 Student Achievement Fair at the OSBA annual conference in November.

In addition to the CIS student internship program, students from our Greenville High School Engineering program also received the honor of being selected to participate in the Student Achievement Fair at the Ohio School Board Association annual conference in Columbus.  They will present their Gravitational Water Vortex Engineering project.  The GWVPP (Gravitational Water Vortex Power Plant) is a horizontal cousin of the hydroelectric dam. The benefits of using an artificially induced vortex above gravity- accelerated water both increase efficiency, decrease cost, and not only lower the negative impact on the environment, but actually increase the sustainability and health of the river as a whole. The ingenious invention was designed and developed by Franz Zotlöterer, an Austrian engineer, who saw the advantage of using this natural process.

            For the Engineering 12 class at Greenville High School, President Parker Cameron and teammates, Austin Lowder and Sam Jones, have chosen this topic as their capstone project. With instructor, Christopher Sykes, these students will prepare a written report, portfolio, a functioning model, time records, and a presentation to be used for various events. What makes this project different from previous projects is its ability to go further than the class itself. A potential goal for the student’s project is to inspire the state of Ohio, with many others following, to actually construct this potential alternative energy source.

            These students and instructors represent only a few of the outstanding programs that exist in Greenville Schools.  The goal of preparing our young people with viable 21^st century tools for success is an academic programming priority that is being achieved.

Here is some new info on costs of the new school.

Here are some answers to some questions that have been asked by our readers through our blog email.  

First question is what is the total cost per square foot for the new building?  

$225.78 per square foot cost (fully furnished *this per square foot could be lower based on the project bidding*if lower, the additional dollars will be utilized in the needed HS renovation projects)

What is the total square footage of the building?

New building square footage:  254,778          Cost of New Building: $57,525,643 (State Share-$18,192,750)(Local Share-$39,332,893)

What will the total cost be for renovation of the high school?

$5,667,107 has been dedicated to completing HS renovations

Proposed Upgrades for the High School

Right now the plans for the existing High School include a number of refurbishments and refinements.  The money allocated by the State of Ohio School Facility Commission will be $5.6 million.  Any monies that are saved from cost coming in under projections on the new school may also be used for the high school.  

The  refurbishment of science labs is a large priority which will allow teachers to take advantage of new processes in all science areas.  Because technology changes almost daily the capability of the building to accept new technology will be increased including such things as "Smart Boards" and other computerized projects.

New green heating technology will also be included which should allow for better year round climate control in the building and bring the operating costs down.  Along with that, new energy efficient windows will be added to further enhance the operation of the complex.  

The size of the cafeteria will be enlarged thus allowing for more students to go to lunch at one time and decrease the length of the lunch period.  There will also be some cosmetic refinements to the interior and exterior of the building.  

As plans are finalized on these projects we will post them here.

- Show quoted text -  

The New School Project - What it's all about.

The Project

• A new, fully furnished facility centrally located to educate students in grades K-8 along with High School Renovations.
• An environmentally friendly and efficient building utilizing the benefits of "green technology”
• A building in which security features provide a safe environment for students and staff.
• New classrooms providing up-to-date technology, science labs, and flexible learning spaces to enhance the instructional environment.
• A building providing the space and accessibility to meet the needs of our handicapped population.
• Renovations to the existing high school to create enhanced operational and educational opportunities.

The Rationale


The Ohio Schools Facilities Commission (OSFC) advised the district that aging buildings would cost more to renovate than to replace and OSFC would provide co-funding accordingly.

• The consolidation of Woodland, East, South, and the Junior High would allow operational cost reductions contrasting the current building configuration.
• The State's financial commitment to GSD's for the project is $18,192,750.
• Interest rates are at an all time low.

The Cost For Taxpayer:

• 6.43 Mills for 28 years and 1/4% School District Income Tax
• Passage of levy would eliminate a 2-mill permanent improvement levy enacted in 1989
• $ 100,000 home = $173.25 per year or $14.42 per month (taxpayer 64 years old and younger living in the home)
• $ 100,000 home = $129.93 per year or $10.83 per month (taxpayer 65  years and older living in the home)
• $ 25,000 income = $63.00 annually ($50 Senior Credit)

For information on figuring your tax burden go here: www.darkecountyrealestate.org/TaxEstimator/

If approved, the new school will be built on land that the school system already owns on North Ohio St.  The property is directly across from the Rest Haven Nursing Homes.  All infrastructure improvements such as water, sewer, street extensions and paving are included in the project.

The last new school built in the Greenville School District is the current High School. It will be 50 years old in 2013. There is money in the Ohio School Facilities Commission grant to refurbish the high school. It seemed that this was the most prudent course of action to take at this time. The current cost for operation of our current buildings is around $1.70 per square foot. New schools similar to ours are operating for less than half of that. So we go from four inefficient schools to one very efficient school and our operating levy lasts that much longer.