Plastic sheets and trash cans protect the Union Local High School gym floor from water leaking through the roof. (Photo Provided)

BELMONT — When voters in the Union Local School District rejected a $62 million bond issue for school improvements last fall, the district’s needs did not go away — so administrators and board members listened to the public and downsized their plans, placing a $34.6 million request on the upcoming Nov. 5 ballot.

That dollar figure represents just over half of the amount the district asked voters to approve a year ago, Superintendent Zac Shutler pointed out as he outlined intended uses for the money in an interview last week. A fact sheet about the proposed bond issue states that the plan now “focuses mainly on crucial infrastructure items that are necessary to operate the district long term.” Among the school system’s most pressing needs are repair or replacement of roofs, plumbing and pipes, sidewalks and asphalt, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at all three buildings.

“We went from $62 million to $34.6,” Shutler said. “The bond committee, which I’m a member of, we wanted it to be something that the public could support.”

Following the defeat of the 2023 bond issue by a margin of 2,269-723, the committee asked residents to complete a survey about the district’s biggest needs and what priorities it should set.

Shutler said around 300 people responded to the initial survey.

“So we took almost everything off that didn’t have at least 60% public support based on that survey. What that tended to trim was a lot of the extra-curricular and aesthetic improvements,” he said. “So, for example, we removed the campus main entrance.”

The original plan included a main entrance that would have been on the middle school side of the high/middle school complex. It would have created a centralized point of entry and featured information about the history of the district. But, since the public did not support that effort, it was removed from the plan.

The public also did not support creation of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, lab at the elementary school or the purchase of new furniture, installation of new flooring and other aesthetic improvements in any of the buildings.

“There wasn’t support for any type of extra-curricular or athletic improvements, so we removed all of the extra-curricular or athletic improvements,” he noted.

Shutler said voters may wonder why repairs and upgrades that were deemed necessary a year ago could be cut from the plan this time around.

“I think that is a valid question, and the reality is those are all necessities for us to be a full-service, full-scale school district. We do need a new main entrance. We do need STEM labs eventually in the elementary school. Our extra-curricular facilities are in major need of repair, especially the lighting and the track. Those are all needs.

“But, if the community didn’t support those, then to put them back on the ballot would have been foolish on our part,” he said, noting those are needs that can be deferred to the future.

Shutler said district leaders and community members know that the buildings are in need of HVAC improvements. He said the roofs are original to the structures, making them about 27 years old, and he pointed out that several newer schools such as Martins Ferry and Bridgeport already have had their roofs replaced.

“We have gotten good usage, we have taken proper care of these things,” he added.

In the middle school, he said, the plumbing and piping are in “really bad shape.” That portion of the campus is the original high school building, constructed in the 1950s, making some of those pipes around 65 years old. Cracks in pipes that allowed sewer gas to flow into the buildings caused the district to cancel classes on a couple of occasions last school year.

Shutler pointed out that the sidewalks and asphalt are in “major states of degrading.” He said this causes more than just cosmetic issues, since students, staff and visitors of all ages walk on those rough or uneven surfaces and may have additional challenges such as using crutches or wheelchairs.

“These are major projects that we don’t have the money in our general fund to take care of,” Shutler said.

Although a main campus entrance was eliminated from the plan, the bond issue would finance construction of secure entrances at each building as well as upgrades to fire protection systems. Shutler pointed out that the buildings were built “pre-Columbine,” when school shootings were rare. The redesigned entries would include “man trap” areas that would allow staff members to see anyone entering the building prior to them gaining access to the rest of the structure.

In addition, because public support for STEM labs at the middle and high schools was reflected on the surveys, those would be built as well if the bond issue is approved.

The bond issue also would allow for the middle school gym floor to be removed to access old plumbing. It would provide for asbestos abatement in the gym and for a new floor with no dips or gaps to be installed.

“All of these improvements are essential to the long term viability of the UNion Local School DIstrict,” according to the fact sheet. “The Bond Issue does not address all of the district’s needs, but it does address the large scale infrastructure issues that are plaguing the district.”

Shutler noted that school districts typically seek approval of bond issues to finance capital improvements. Issuing bonds allows the district to get the money up front and complete the work. When the bonds are paid off, the associated tax goes away.

Levies, on the other hand, usually are collected for a specific period of time and are used to fund district operations.

District voters most recently approved a $3.5 million bond issue in 1995 for construction of the new consolidated elementary school. The last levy that the district is currently collecting proceeds from was passed in 1991 – 33 years ago.

According to the fact sheet, Union Local also collects the lowest percentage of property taxes of any school district in Belmont County, as well as a lower percentage than the neighboring Harrison Central School District.

According to information provided by Shutler, the 6-2-mill bond issue would provide a bond amount of $34,630,000 over a term of 20 years. It would cost the owner of a home valued at $100,000 for tax purposes $217 per year.

“We just want to secure the future of the district,” Shutler concluded.