The results of a 2-mill bond issue in the Felicity-Franklin school district may not make many headlines after the votes are tallied Tuesday night.

        But the Clermont County issue represents a wave of bond issues being launched over the next decade in hopes of snaring more than $10 billion allocated for rebuilding Ohio's public schools.

        To receive those funds, however, school districts must raise their designated share by using cash on hand, private donations or local bond issues.

        State officials expect nearly every Ohio school district will seek bond issues to bring every building up to new state standards within the next decade.

        “We are the largest capital construction project in the state of Ohio,” said Rick Savors, spokesman for the Ohio School Facilities Commission, the state agency that administers the building program.

        The massive fix-up campaign dates to a 1997 Ohio Supreme Court decision declaring the state's school funding system unconstitutional.

        In response, state officials began inspecting and rating every public school building in Ohio and making millions of dollars available to districts that raise their share for repairs. The state has assessed about two-thirds of the 613 public school districts. Districts whose bond issues fail lose state funding until the bond issue passes or they can raise the money another way.

        Since the program began, three local districts have passed bond issues totaling more than $13 million for school repairs and are receiving millions in state funding.

        Felicity-Franklin schools want to be added to that list by passing a $1.37 million bond issue Tuesday. Owners of a $100,000 home will be asked to pay an additional $61 per year.

        “I could not foresee us asking the voters in our district for all the money to build a high school,” Superintendent Roger Hornsby said.

        If the bond issue passes, the money will go into a $15 million project to build a new high school and refurbish the district's other schools. The state will provide the remaining $13.65 million — 91 percent.

        Districts with less property wealth receive a greater percentage of state money for the building projects.

More to come

        In Greater Cincinnati, Bethel-Tate and Goshen schools in Clermont County and New Miami schools in Butler County have successfully passed bond issues to win state money for repairs. Construction and renovation estimated to cost about $80 million is under way in the districts.

        Officials there say they would not have asked voters to pass bond issues to rebuild their schools if not for the state contribution.

        Milford schools, which passed a bond issue in May, went through another Ohio School Facilities program in which they pay up front for the building project and receive a credit to be eligible for state funding later. More than 20 local districts have applied for that program.

        Cincinnati Public Schools, one of the first large urban districts to be inspected by the state, is expected to launch a bond issue within the next fewyears, spokeswoman Jan Leslie has said.

        The Ohio School Facilities Commission manages the process of assessment and repair for all of Ohio's public school districts.

        In 1997, the high court's 4-3 decision focused on the property tax-driven funding gaps between Ohio's rich and poor schools, but the justices also criticized the conditions at many of Ohio's aging school buildings. They ordered lawmakers to come up with the money to renovate, rebuild and replace them.

        Ohio spent less than $200 million on school buildings from 1957 to 1991. From 1991 to 1997, however, the state spent $334 million. Since the first Supreme Court ruling, the state has disbursed more than $1 billion and appropriated more than $3 billion.

        The goal is to have every Ohio child educated in adequate school buildings, state officials say.

        CPS is having its buildings assessed by architects, an educational assessment firm hired by the state and the district's facilities experts. They expect to unveil a building plan in December or January.

        Through that assessment, which includes a walk-through of each building, the state determines which buildings should be renovated, which need to replaced and how much it will cost. The district is responsible for a portion of the project, based on property values.

        The state will pay 81 percent of New Miami's $12 million in facilities improvements but will fund only 23 percent of CPS' project, estimated at $900 million.

        Sixty-one of CPS' 76 schools have been recommended to be closed or replaced after state inspections. CPS is asking the state to reconsider the status of more than 20 buildings. Either way, the scope of the building project will be the biggest in CPS history.
       

Process has critics


        The quality of the state's assessments and estimates have become an issue for some districts.

        Each of the three Greater Cincinnati districts that completed the assessment process and passed bond issues say the assessments missed costly construction items totaling millions of dollars.

        For Goshen, the state's estimates pegged the project's cost at around $33 million. Cost overruns, however, will total another $7 million, said Goshen Treasurer Todd Shinkle. The district will be responsible for 21 percent of that figure, or about $1.4 million, that was not included in the original 1999 bond issue.

        “We're really disappointed in the original assessments because of all the things missed,” he said. For example, the assessments underestimated the need, and therefore cost, for ceiling supports in a building requiring a new sprinkler system and heating and air conditioning ducts, he said.

        While he is happy to see new buildings going up, Mr. Shinkle said the district has not yet determined how it will pay its share of the overruns.

        Eric Bode, chief financial officer for the Ohio School Facilities Commission, said the assessments have not been perfect. He said the state tries to be flexible with districts in the repayment process and funding sources for over-budget projects.

        The statewide assessment is expected to run through 2012, reaching all of Ohio's 613 public school districts.

        For information, go online at www.osfc.state.oh.us.

       Spencer Hunt contributed to this story.
       The Cincinnati Enquirer/MICHAEL SNYDER At New Miami High School, teacher Phil Ridenour works in the new chemistry and astronomy classroom this week. It was built with state and local funds.

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