by Bob Gaetjens

Editor

Streetsboro -- School officials are checking out what some of their options might be if they decide to ask the community to approve a new high school.

Several members of the School Board and administration toured Mogadore High School, Tallmadge High School, and Brimfield Elementary School April 24 to explore safety, efficiency, and educational features of the buildings

School Board President Kevin Grimm said there are no plans to place a bond issue on the ballot this calendar year.

"I think it's safe to say we are still in the research phase," he said.

If the district asks voters to approve a new high school, the district would pay 65 percent and the state 35 percent of the construction cost, said Superintendent Tom Giovangnoli.

Giovangnoli has said the lack of space at the high school creates a need for new facilities.

Seeking a middle ground

School Board member Denise Baba and Grimm said a new school would need to strike a balance between a so-called "Taj Mahal" and something that looks institutional.

"We're not going to build a Taj Mahal," said Grimm. "But if you make it institutional, like a jail, [students and faculty] aren't going to want to be there."

According to school officials, about 680 attend Streetsboro High School this year.

"Next year, we'll have 750 kids in our high school," Giovangnoli said.

On the April 24 tour, officials saw two new high schools which have a few similarities and a lot of differences.

Mogadore High School is sited on a 4-acre property in exactly the location the old high school occupied, according to Terry Byers, who serves as both the high school principal and superintendent.

The 90,000-square-foot building serves about 600 students from seventh through 12th grade, according to Mogadore School Board President John Caine.

Tallmadge High School, designed to house 1,000 students, is 170,000 square feet and sits on 54 acres, according to Tallmadge Schools Business Manager Don Johnson.

Designed for different size classes on different sites, the costs and funding methods were different for each building. Mogadore High School cost $12.2 million, according to Melanie Friedman of DiMaio Architects.

Johnson said Tallmadge High School cost $30.5 million.

Mogadore's new school is in its first year, and Tallmadge High School is set to open to students in the fall.

According to Caine and Johnson, both buildings feature only one entrance during the school day -- through the main office, which is next to the main student entrance and cafeteria.

The cafeterias, which visitors enter after signing in at the office in both schools, are very different, reflecting each community's priorities.

Mogadore's is a cafetorium or auditeria (depending on the source), which serves as both cafeteria and auditorium, with a raised stage at one end.

Tallmadge's cafeteria, domed and shaped like a circle like the city's central intersection, is the center of the school. The dome, visible as one drives by on North Munroe Road, covers the entire room.

Tallmadge has a separate auditorium, housing its school theater program and community theater group.

Tallmadge opted to use money from the Ohio School Facilities Commission, agreeing to build the project to adhere to the state's standards, which included 900-square-foot classrooms, a bookstore (which also doubles as a classroom), and other features.

Caine said the OSFC told Mogadore it needed to replace both its elementary and high school, so Mogadore turned down the state money in favor of a less involved project.

As a result, it was able to build smaller classrooms (840 square feet), which Caine said he believes are more appropriate for the number of students using the classrooms.

"We don't have 30-student classes, anyway," he said, alluding to the OSFC's requirement that the district build classrooms to accommodate 30.

Tallmadge is using state funding, said Johnson. The district will pay 78 percent of the project and the state will pay 22 percent, according to a state audit of the Tallmadge schools covering 2004-05.

Facilities shared with the community was a common thread in both projects.

In Mogadore, there is an indoor track on a balcony circling the gym and a weight room community members may use. There also is a community meeting room, which groups can rent for meetings.

Tallmadge Schools and the city of Tallmadge worked together several years ago to build a recreation center next to the high school site. The city built the 90,000-square-foot center, but the schools leased the city the land for a low cost and is allowed priority use of the facility for three hours including after school sports practices.

The Tallmadge school also has a community room.

Johnson said the residents voted to add items the OSFC doesn't require, including the separate auditorium and cafeteria, terrazzo flooring and other items, totaling $3.5 million.

Grimm said Tallmadge is building a school that "will last a long time."

School Board member said he was impressed by the Tallmadge school.

"Tallmadge was just unbelievable," he said. "The technology was state-of-the-art. After looking at it, I don't think they overspent."

E-mail:
bgaetjens@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3941