HAMILTON — Educators here are laying the groundwork for the most ambitious project in the schools' history: replacing 14 aging elementary schools with 10 new buildings by the end of the decade.

        The money would come from a $45 million bond issue voters approved 18 months ago, and from the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

        The state would give the district 59 cents to spend for every 41 cents it raises locally, said Robert Hancock, Hamilton Schools' treasurer.

        Hamilton is in line to receive the state money between 2004 and 2006, Mr. Hancock said. But work could begin much sooner because the district would use its own funds first.

        Officials hope to have a plan for the rebuilding finished by the end of the year.

        “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that gives us the ability to make all of our facilities state of the art,” said Larry Bowling, president of the Hamilton Board of Education. “Right now we have aging buildings — the youngest are about 50 years old. Some of the older ones are 100 years.”

        A change in state law allows Hamilton to use the May 1999 bond issue as its share of the project cost. But it also means the district has had to rethink the plan it outlined to voters when the ballot issue was approved, said Joni Copas, spokeswoman for Hamilton Schools. That plan included renova tions at every school, and classroom additions at some elementary schools.

        The state says the money can only be used for schools with 350 or more students. The city's elementary schools are too old to qualify for state money to do extensive renovations, said Everett Mann, Hamilton's administrative assistant for business and planning.

        State funds cannot be used to purchase land for a school, so Hamilton officials say they likely will demolish some schools and rebuild on the same sites.

        Donna Margerum said she's waiting to see which buildings are rebuilt and what the final plan looks like before passing judgment. Her children now have a five- to six-minute walk to Cleveland Elementary School.

        “Some of the schools are in really bad shape,” said Ms. Margerum. “I think we need to keep neighborhood schools.”

        Kathie Schulte, whose children go to Catholic schools, said she voted in favor of last year's bond issue and supports the plan to rebuild Hamilton's elementary schools.

        “I'm all for it. Every kid deserves it. A lot of the old schools have asbestos,” Mrs. Schulte said. “Usually it helps all of us (in Hamilton) in the long run.”

        Classroom additions and renovations that began earlier this year at Wilson Junior High and at Hamilton High School will contin ue, although some of the work at Wilson won't qualify as the district's match under state guidelines, Mr. Mann said. Brick is being laid at the Wilson addition that is to be finished in February or March, Mr. Mann said.

        School officials also are finalizing enrollment projections to make sure they don't over- or under-build, Mr. Mann said. This year's official enrollment of 9,381 is down from last year's count of 9,451, Mrs. Copas said.

        Enrollment is expected to slowly decline over the next several years before leveling out at 8,800 to 9,000 by 2010, Mr. Mann said.

        Once the final plan is approved by the school board and the facilities commission, planning for the buildings would begin. It is expected to take up to nine years before all the schools would be replaced, Mr. Bowling said.

        No more than two or three buildings would be under construction at the same time.

        “We want to do this in a way that is least disruptive to students,” Mrs. Copas said. “It will involve some redistricting if we go from 14 elementary schools to nine or 10.”

Tougher DUI rule faces fight
Meeting on pet limits is tonight
Ohio wants online school to be audited
Digital age boosts vocational training
Justin case may go to federal court
SAMPLES: God blamed for coal sludge
Area in lead for cleanup
Hamilton plans to replace all schools
West Hi, Dater take on a new look
Winton teachers plan work slowdown
Detectives doubled in Mason
Local Digest
Miami students' efforts yield 2 homes
Officer keeps fast beat on interstate
St. Xavier students hold food drive
Time capsule from 1883 yields coins, documents
Airport terminal costs less than thought
Aviation program is for families
School kids produce TV news show
Warren Arc gets organized
You asked for it
Boy killed in hunting accident
Kentucky Digest
Snow falls on parts of Ky.
Letter writer, listed in Guinness, dies at 87
Proposal aims to split Indiana electoral votes