Authority Rejects $1M Request for Steenrod Elementary School in Wheeling
The West Virginia School Building Authority has said “no” to a $1 million request to begin upgrades at Steenrod Elementary School — at least for now.
Major improvement projects at Steenrod, projected to cost nearly $1.3 million, are part of a $75.5 million comprehensive plan by Ohio County Schools to upgrade its school facilities in the coming years.
The projects are to be funded largely by a $44.2 million school bond passed by voters this spring, and by $26 million expected to be approved by the SBA.
Superintendent Kim Miller said the district won’t see the first of the school bond dollars until March 2019, though the school district requested an initial $1 million from the SBA to start the construction at Steenrod.
The SBA, however, chose not to give the county funding now as Ohio County Schools doesn’t yet have bond money in hand for the project.
“We have been working collaboratively with the SBA,” Miller said. “We knew there was a possibility that we couldn’t get the money.
“They like you to have bond dollars in hand, and we do not actually have those dollars yet,” she said.
The $1 million for Steenrod now will be included in the overall $26 million request to be submitted to the SBA in December.
Among the upgrades slated for Steenrod is the construction of a 6,000-square-foot kitchen and cafeteria addition. There is to be a replacement of the heating and air conditioning systems, and the removal and replacement of roofing.
The parking lot will be repaired, and 10 parking spaces will be added. Windows and interior doors also will be replaced.
Miller said she was very grateful to state School Superintendent Steven Paine, who has made several visits to Ohio County over the past year. He told board of education members last year he felt certain the SBA would approve additional funding to the district for building upgrades if it first passed a levy.
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