Toledo School District Superintendent Chris Rust looks up at the ceiling in one of the high school's art classrooms where water has damaged some of the students' work during a tour of the facility in January 2017.
The Toledo School District has placed a $12.2 million capital bond measure on the Feb. 13 special election ballot following the defeat of a similar but more costly measure in November.
The new measure no longer includes a rubberized track and field projects or restrooms at the stadium. Both were removed from the list of projects and will only be completed if enough funds are available after the remainder of the projects are finished, according to the district.
The middle school roof will also now be completed with existing funds and a less-expensive solution has been identified to restore the roof at the high school.
If approved, the funds would be used to modernize the high school and perform repairs at the Toledo middle and elementary schools.
“The measure would make the high school building watertight by restoring the roof and replacing exterior windows that leak,” stated a press release from the district. “Interior walls that do not insulate sound would be replaced with permanent structures.”
The measure would also retrofit the building so it could better withstand earthquakes. Security upgrades would include an intercom system, cameras, updated fire alarms and exterior and interior locks. The high school would also be brought up to disabled access code, while HVAC systems would be completed to provide ventilation and cooling.
“We’ve been able to accomplish some projects with existing funds and are looking for grants and credits that will assist with others in order to reduce the impact of these projects on taxpayers,” Superintendent Chris Rust said. “The estimated state contribution to the project is less this time and increased construction costs means that we can only reduce the bond request by $700,000.”
The November bond measure asked for $12.9 million and was defeated after it only received 58.2 percent in favor. Bond measures must be approved with a 60 percent — or supermajority — vote.
More information on the capital bond can be found online at sites.google.com/a/toledoschools.us/community-bond-committee/capital-bond-february-13.
