PERRYSBURG, Ohio — Perrysburg voters will decide in November on a $140 million ballot measure to build a new elementary school and expand and upgrade the district's other buildings
The board of education voted Tuesday to ask voters for a 5.95-mill bond levy to pay for the project.
Because Perrysburg is growing, the school district needs to expand and upgrade its buildings to accommodate growing enrollment, district officials have said.
U.S. Census data shows 4,500 people moved into the district between April 2010 and April 2020.
The new grade school in the southwestern portion of the district will hold 800 students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
The district's plan also calls for:
- Upgrading and expanding Toth, Woodland and Fort Meigs elementary schools
- Adding eight classrooms at Hull Prairie Elementary School
- Upgrading and expanding Perrysburg Junior High School with 12-14 new classrooms
- Upgrading and expanding Perrysburg High School with 36-40 new classrooms
- Upgrading fine arts and athletics facilities
- Addressing deferred maintenance throughout the district
- Eliminating portable classrooms.
The district also has applied to the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission for help with funding for the new school. The state offers up to 30 percent reimbursement for the cost of qualified construction projects.
The district estimates the new levy will cost owners of a home assessed at $250,000 an extra $43.39 a month in taxes.
Managing growth has been an issue for Perrysburg schools for years. In 2014 voters approved a 2.94-mill tax levy to pay for a new grade school. In 2017 the new $29 million Hull Prairie School opened for district fifth- and sixth-graders.
Just since that school opened the district's overall enrollment grew from 5000 students in 2017-2018 to 5,300 in 2021-2022, according to Ohio Department of Education records.
For the past year a community facilities committee has worked on a proposal to address the continued need for expanded schools. The group's report was used as a basis for the plan approved by the school board Tuesday.
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