Exciting Plans on the Horizon for our Community

GOOD NEWS FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT’S OFFICE

As the school year ends, I want to update the community on our facilities planning process. Wayne Local Schools has partnered with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) and the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC), an “arm” of OFCC that co-funds and manages PK-12 public school construction. During the engagement with OSFC; facilities assessments and future enrollment projections have been developed and used to develop a master facilities plan. We selected a “Pre-Bond” Architect, L.W.C. Inc. of Dayton, Ohio. We engaged the community with forums, surveys and focus group meetings. We worked with OSFC and LWC to analyze facility plan options, costs, and most importantly how to receive as much state assistance as possible. Over the years, the district leadership has worked hard to achieve a high credit rating; currently Moody’s Investors Service has given Wayne Local School’s a rating of Aa. That is an excellent rating for a small community and school district; it indicates strong financial management, a strong economy and tax base. The Board of Education has reviewed all information gathered and approved a motion to provide OSFC a “segmented” facility plan; in this plan a new elementary complex is our first priority. The submitted plan of a preschool through 6th grade program in a new building provided the best long-term state funding scenario. After reviewing our plan, OSFC offered Wayne Local Schools a Notice of Conditional Approval (NOCA) before the May Board of Education meeting. The Board of Education took my recommendation and approved a resolution of conditional approval; indicating we want to be on the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission’s July agenda for state funding approval. So everything is in the state’s hands; we have worked diligently to meet all deadlines to position Wayne Local for this opportunity. Approval in July means Wayne Local School will immediately begin to develop ballot language for the November 2017 General Election. This is a limited opportunity for our community; the amount of state funding will definitely decrease and is likely to completely disappear in the future. Twenty one cents on the dollar (21%) of a new elementary complex is significant support to enhance learning, replace undersized learning spaces, address aging infrastructure, congestion and traffic flow. I will let the community know the outcome of the July OFCC meeting. We now wait… Enjoy your summer break!!