Toledo School District Superintendent Chris Rust stands in front of one of the many partitioned classrooms adjacent to the high school's library during a tour in January 2017. The district successfully passed a bond this year, but not before several failures to reach the 60 percent threshold.
Community members of the Toledo School District have gathered three times to review options following the failure of the $14.2 million bond measure on the February ballot.
According to a press release from the district, the committee is looking at the possibility of consolidating the middle and high school, consolidating with another school district, reprioritizing the projects that were on the last bond measure in order to reduce the amount of the bond, constructing a bond measure that makes the track and restroom projects contingent upon passage of a high school bond and construction of a new high school around the existing gym and shop.
The option to place the same measure on the ballot remains. All of the options are being studied and considered. The committee will continue its work until it is able to make a recommendation to the board of directors.
“In addition to inviting all community members to participate, I reached out specifically to members of our community who were most critical of the February bond measure,” Superintendent Chris Rust said in the press release. “I invited them to have their voices heard as part of preparing a way forward. Many of these folks have accepted the invitation and are working diligently to examine options.”
The committee includes about 25 people. The only membership requirement is an interest in Toledo schools and a desire to work to address the identified facility needs, according to the release.
The information and minutes from the meetings can be accessed online at sites.google.com/a/toledoschools.us/community-bond-committee/.
The site includes files that lead to the February bond as well as study and survey documents from 2010 and 2016.
According to the release, a recent discovery shows the district’s enrollment is growing and is forecast to grow modestly for the next five years.
“I think that this was a surprise to the committee,” Rust said. “The perception and forecast has been that enrollment was either declining or stable. We’re currently 171 students above what the projections were in 2011 and 18 students more than the state forecast last year.”
The committee meets at 6 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays in the Toledo High School Library. The next meeting will be on May 9. The public is invited to attend and participate.
