Dear ALCS families,
The Avon Lake City School District Board of Education (BOE) held a special meeting on November 12, 2023 in Columbus while members were in town to attend the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) annual Capital Conference and Trade Show. At the meeting, the BOE passed a Resolution of Necessity to place a bond issue on the March 19, 2024 Primary Election ballot to construct, furnish and equip two new PK-5 elementary schools (Troy and Eastview sites), one new 6-8 middle school (Learwood site) and make improvements to Avon Lake High School.
The BOE incorporated State Consent/Special Needs into the Resolution of Necessity of Bond Issue (the first step in the process) in order to meet the November 20, 2023 deadline. The second step in the process is the Resolution to Proceed with Bond Issue, which will be voted on at the November 29, 2023 Special BOE Meeting. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the L.A.K.E. Center at Avon Lake High School. During that meeting, the district’s Five-year Forecast will also be presented by District Treasurer Autumn Reed.
December 20, 2023 is the filing deadline for the Lorain County Board of Elections for issues to be placed on the March 19, 2024 Primary Election ballot.
The resolution allows the district to place the $170 million, 37-year bond issue on the ballot for the Building ALegacy project. At the completion of the project, all students PK-8 in the district would be attending school in a new building. In addition, once the former buildings are vacated, the district plans to put additional athletic fields at the Erieview site and greenspace at Westview. The Memorandum Agreement to sell the Redwood site to the City of Avon Lake would still be in place. The city would use the site for a senior center and offices for the Parks and Recreation Department.
The need remains. We have buildings that are inadequate for today’s learners and for our future Shoremen and Shoregals. Issue 11 was defeated by a small margin, given the number of residents who turned out to vote on November 7, 2023. We were pleased with the support we received. We now need to target our focus to those who may need more information on the project, while making sure our supporters come out in March.
The district will continue to post updates and facts regarding the Building ALegacy campaign on our website, avonlakecityschools.org/district/community/facilities. Community members are encouraged to reach out to district officials if they have any questions regarding the bond issue or the schools. Emails can also be sent to feedback@alcsoh.org.
#ALexcellence to ALite!
Sincerely,
Joelle Magyar
