Facility Focus

Approximately 750,000 square feet of academic facilities. 200 acres of land. One goal: Support an "ALite" education for each student in the Avon Lake City School District.

What's going on in our schools from a facilities standpoint? What projects are we working on? What challenges do we face? What opportunities exist? Find all the facilities news that's fit to print right here in our quarterly newsletter!

This summer, in addition to the "usual" summer cleaning and maintenance projects, the district anticipates possibly completing somewhere between 35 and 40 classroom moves/reconfigurations. We are trying to find a balance between the need to be efficient and starting the work now, while also being mindful of maintaining a typical classroom experience for our students until the last bell rings on June 4th.

A few significant projects are underway in our academic/fine arts spaces that we want to highlight:

• Redwood Art Room: We are exploring the feasibility of bringing the Erieview kiln over to this space so that it can continue to be used to serve our students. As we do that, we are also inspecting the existing HVAC systems in that area of the building (serves the art, library, and innovation spaces). HVAC systems continue to be one of our areas of greatest need in the district.
• High School Photography Classroom/Lab: This roof section did not make it through the winter. At one point there were at least a dozen leaks in the classroom, lab, and darkroom (see picture for one example of a system that was fashioned to catch and channel water from the leaks). A temporary roof was installed in February, and a replacement is being considered for late summer.
• All around the district, building walkthroughs have been completed and notes are being added to a master reconfiguration list to help ensure that classrooms will be set up (and modified, if necessary) to meet student and staff needs in the fall.

Facility reconfigurations are never easy. This has been a difficult time for our community, but we will continue to work every day on the above items, as well as all the other projects that will be completed between now and the start of next school year, to make these transitions as smooth as possible for all concerned.

The windscreens have been placed, some additional landscaping work is just about ready to begin, and we are actively preparing for storage options and the placement of an AED on the site of the new tennis and pickleball facility at the high school. All that remains is a little cooperation from Northeast Ohio - surfacing and painting can be completed only with multiple days in a row of weather above 50 degrees and no rain, so we are anxiously awaiting a positive forecast and a little scheduling luck.

In other news, design work is in process for possible renovations to the track at Learwood Middle School. Our insurance broker took a look at the track over the winter, and requested that the district make plans to complete a project or be prepared to close the track. Some type of solution is needed - the track is used for physical education classes, school and community practices, and general recreation. The Memorial Stadium facility alone does not have the capacity to meet school and community needs. The Avon Lake Athletic Boosters donated $50,000 toward renovations of the Learwood track, a portion of which is being used to complete the design phase of a potential project.

The Avon Lake City Schools would like to operate fewer facilities and newer facilities to reduce future operating costs, as well as provide adequate educational facilities for all students.

To realize these goals, the Board has proposed the following to the community:

Bond Issue and Operating Levy (May 6th ballot):

• Build a new 5-8 middle school
• Repair existing K-4 elementaries
• $88.09M bond issue (Issue 16) + $3M per year operating levy (Issue 17)
• Estimated cost per $100,000 Auditor Appraised Home Value: $165 per year

Approximately $65 per year per $100,000 Auditor Appraised Home Value is scheduled to come off the books in 2026 (from the 2009 bond issue)

The following repairs would take place at the remaining elementary schools (Eastview, Redwood, and Westview):

• HVAC system replacement, including converting the buildings to a ducted system, adding air conditioning, and addressing general classroom exhaust needs
• Roof replacement, based on identified priorities/age of current roof sections
• Electrical systems, including panel replacement, additional circuits, and interior lighting upgrades (e.g. convert to LED)
• Plumbing systems, including replacement of the sanitary waste piping under the buildings
• Handicapped access upgrades
• Life safety systems, including sprinkler/fire suppression systems and emergency generators
• Replacement of old kitchen equipment, as needed
• Budget permitting, additional site condition work (asphalt, sidewalks) and other building-specific needs

It is important to note that high school repairs are not included in any of the proposed options. Necessary repairs would be completed at the high school as time and budget permits, as is taking place now.

The district has made more than $2 million in reductions to its annual operating budget.