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The basics: New elementary building coming to Northwest Local Schools
Falling bricks: Old Colerain Elementary is 101 years old
Why does Northwest Local Schools need a new Colerain Elementary? Well, Colerain Elementary is the district's oldest building at 101 years old. And in May, it quite literally started to crumble.
A section of bricks fell from the front of Colerain Elementary School over a weekend in the spring. Students were not at the building at the time, Superintendent Darrell Yater said.
The district had the building assessed immediately and found that the anchors that support the building's bricks had grown weak over the last century. The district put up fencing and scaffolding during the assessment and now the building has temporary anchors - 750 of them, which look like small black dots around the building - to keep the rest of the bricks in place.
"It's a temporary fix," Yater said. "It's a little polka-dotted right now."
Yater assured The Enquirer that the building is safe in the meantime, as kids continue to go to school there, while the new school is designed and built.
What you need to know about the new Colerain Elementary
The district's rebuilt three of its other elementary schools in 2018: Pleasant Run Elementary, Struble Elementary and Taylor Elementary.
Now, it's Colerain Elementary School's turn.
The Northwest Local Schools Board of Education approved the district's master facility plan in February and submitted it to the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. The plan was created by a community advisory committee made up of staff, parents and community members and includes:
While most of those projects are a long way out, Colerain Elementary School's falling bricks expedited that portion of the plan.
The elementary project is the district's first to be co-funded by the state. The rest of the funds will come out of the district's master facilities plan fund and through credits they've earned through previous building projects. No bond issue is necessary.
How will the new school's design help kids learn?
The new school will be built in alignment with the district's other new elementary buildings, "so it will bring some educational continuity across the district," Yater said.
Those new buildings have collaborative learning spaces so that multiple classes can come together for activities. The design also makes it easier for small groups of students to receive enrichment and intervention supports.
The design doesn't necessarily bring higher learning gains, Yater said. But it does improve efficiencies. And the district has seen operational savings at the other elementary buildings because of the new design, which makes maintenance easier and more affordable.
Will taxpayers be asked to fund this new project?
No, the district already has the funds it needs to build a new Colerain Elementary School and will not need to go to voters.
The state is co-funding the project and the district has $65 million in credits from its previous construction projects for the other elementary buildings.
The district also has reserves in its master facilities plan pool that will fund part of the project.
"We've been intentional over the years to make sure that we were able to build that fund up so that we had skin in the game with the community," Yater said. "We want to sure that they know we are good stewards of the taxpayer dollars. We're intentional about allocating our funds to our priorities, and, obviously, facilities is a huge priority right now for us."
Where does the project stand and what's next?
The state recently awarded SHP Architecture and Design the architecture contract for the project. The district is still finalizing other preparatory plans, and construction will likely begin next fall.
Yater said he hopes the new Colerain Elementary school will open in the fall of 2027.
How does this impact kids: Where will kids go during construction? And what about transportation?
The community has wanted this new school for a long time, Yater said.
"I think they are long overdue for it and really excited about having a new facility so that they can have the same amenities and same things that the other buildings have," he said.
The district is hoping to build the new school with minimal disruptions for kids. Students will continue to go to the current Colerain Elementary and Houston Early Learning Center preschool until the new Colerain Elementary is built. Once the new Colerain Elementary opens, kids will be reassigned and those two other buildings will be demolished.
Kids at the Houston Early Learning Center will go to preschool at another site, which is undetermined at this time. But the district's long-term goal is to add a preschool at the new Colerain Elementary in the future.
The district will continue to provide transportation to kids who live a mile or farther from their school. That will mean different families might need transportation to the new building. That information will come later.