Board to decide on school facilities offer

CHILLICOTHE – The Chillicothe City Schools Board of Education will discuss its pursuit of two grade-banded elementary campuses, open enrollment numbers and a restructuring plan when it meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the high school/middle school cafeteria.

Superintendent Jon Saxton said Friday that the district has received a notice of conditional approval from the Ohio School Facilities Commission indicating the state would pick up 55 percent of construction costs for two new grade-banded elementary school campuses if the district comes up with a 45 percent match. The notice, should the school board approve moving forward on Monday, means it’s highly likely the OSFC will give final approval for the project in its quarterly meeting this summer.

According to Saxton, that means if the school board agrees on Monday, plans can begin moving forward for a potential November bond issue request to provide the local match. The district is looking at rolling back the millage from an operational levy approved by voters in 2013 and then making the bond issue the same as the rolled back millage so the bond issue wouldn’t cost taxpayers any more than they are currently paying.

Also on the school board’s Monday agenda is a presentation of the annual open enrollment report, a presentation by Saxton on an administrative restructuring plan, approval of the five-year forecast and establishment of latchkey program fees for the summer and next school year.

The meeting will be preceded by a 5 p.m. meeting of the facilities board committee in the same location.

In other meeting news this week:

•The Ross County Commissioners will convene at 9 a.m. Monday in the commissioners’ office at the Ross County Courthouse. Commissioners will take part in a meeting of the Ross County Automatic Data Processing Board at 10 a.m. and meeting with representatives of the Ross County Planning Department regarding project year 2015 Ohio State Administered Community Development Block Grant project review at 11 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., there will be a meeting of the Local Emergency Planning Committee in Conference Room A of the Ross County Service Center at 475 Western Ave., then commissioners at 1:30 p.m. will meet with the wellness coordinator.

•The Union-Scioto Board of Education moved the meeting location for its Monday meeting. There will be a work session at 4 p.m. and the regular meeting at 6 p.m., both in the high school auditeria.

•The Ross County Board of Elections will have a pair of meetings this week in the board’s offices in suite D of the Ross County Service Center on Western Avenue. The first will be at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and will involve ruling on provisional ballots and any other problem ballots that may have existed from the May 5 primary election. The board will meet again at the same time Thursday in the same location to certify the results of the May 5 election, get a server estimate and get an update on the district meeting.

•The Adena Local Schools Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the school’s multi-purpose gymnasium. Among items on the agenda are discussion of lunch room rates for the next fiscal year, an executive session tied to employment of personnel, the five-year forecast and discussion of the summer youth program.

•The Chillicothe Design Review Board canceled a planned special meeting about the former Smith Middle School that had been scheduled for Monday. The board will meet, however, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the City Administration Building first-floor conference room at 35 S. Paint St. Items on the agenda include an application for windows at 2 N. Paint St., for signage at 45 E. Main St., for fences at 73 W. 5th St., for First Capital District light poles and signage and for landscaping, fences and parking lot paving at 21 N. Paint St.