9-13-2020 12:31pm

Superintendent Column - Franklin City Schools

Rick Amburgey Neighbor

Greetings from Franklin City Schools! We're thrilled to have students back in the buildings, and happy to have a smooth and successful opening week behind us.

Speaking for the board, administration, staff, students, and community, it's a great time to be a Wildcat! We're moving forward with our district facility plans and voters will see a bond issue on the November ballot to finance the local share of four new buildings plus the renovation of Franklin High School into a middle school.

We've been presented with a great opportunity to get new buildings at a steep discount: The State of Ohio will pay 57% of this project through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission’s Expedited Local Partnership. With the issue's passage, Franklin taxpayers would pay about $14/month in additional taxes on a $100,000 house.

The reason we need new buildings is simple: Our "youngest" buildings, Pennyroyal and Franklin High School, opened in 1969. Our oldest building is one of the oldest in SW Ohio -- the current junior high building opened in 1921. Our buildings have served generations of Wildcats, but no longer meet today's needs for educational space and technologies; student and staff safety; and cost efficiency. New buildings will benefit every Franklin property owner, as property values will increase and families are attracted to the district.

Under the plan, we'll reduce the number of buildings we operate from eight to five. We'll construct three new K-5 elementary buildings (designed to house 467 students); a new high school designed to house approx. 950 students at the current junior high site (formerly the high school); and renovate the current high school into a 700-student middle school for grades 6-8. The Hampton Bennett building will be demolished, and the central office staff will relocate to a wing of the renovated middle school.

Getting to this point has been a multi-month process, with a 56-member community advisory team meeting since last September to brainstorm various building configurations. The group developed 16 possible plans that they narrowed to three. The district also held a community forum and did a community-wide survey. The community advisory team wanted to keep the price as low as possible by renovating the current high school and not purchasing property.
While the legal ballot language will call for a 6.52 mill issue, creative financing will allow the district to keep the actual millage under 5. Five mills are about 1.5 mills less than the last two school construction projects in Warren County — the Carlisle K-12 building and the recent Lebanon schools project.

Once the issue passes, we anticipate breaking ground in the spring.

For information about our facility plan, please see our website, www.franklincityschools.com and as always, don’t hesitate to contact me at (937) 746-1699 or msander@franklincityschools.com with any questions or concerns you might have.

Michael D. Sander, Ed.D, Superintendent, Franklin City Schools