PARMA, Ohio — In yet another plea to voters, the Parma City School District is asking for the community to support its consolidation tax to build a new high school.
“We decided that that shouldn’t be a death sentence for what we think is a really great opportunity for our kids and for our community,” said Parma City School District Superintendent Charles Smialek.
“I think it would be great for our students to be able to have air-conditioned buildings and great new technology… all the safety features that we need to have in school buildings in light of all the mass shootings throughout the country,” said Parma resident Allesan Armstrong.
News 5 asked Smialek why the district is trying this over again.
Smialek responded: “Yeah, that’s the million-dollar question in Parma, right?,” he said. “How many times will it take to get it passed. We want to try, because this is a real need for us. We felt like we were on pretty effective campaign in November. It came up, obviously, a little bit short, but 52 to 48 was the percentage margin.”
Smialek is hopeful they can close that gap with help from people like Armstrong.
“I’ve voted yes on every single one of the consolidation plans that have come through. I firmly believe that Parma needs this investment in its public schools,” said Armstrong.
Meanwhile – others disagree.
“My neighbors are all in their seventies, eighties or 90. They can't afford that stuff,” said one Parma area resident, who’s voting against the bond issue.
“The homeowner price would be $11.67 per month per $100,000 of home value,” said Smialek.
Smialek says this amount is up 14 cents from what they presented last November because the cost of the building went from $237.5 million to $250 million due to inflation. But overall, Smialek says a new building would save the district millions.
“This will allow us to go to a 4-2-1 plan, which will be 4 elementary schools, two middle schools and 1 high school, and that will save approximately $5 million in operating money,” said Smialek.
Regardless, if this bond issue passes, the superintendent says Parma City High School will be torn down.
“The demolition is coming. Our hope is that this won’t sit as an empty field that we have to take care of and potentially partner with the city. We want this to be the home of the best high school in Ohio, and that’s really the question for our voters in May,” said Smialek.
RELATED:
Parma City School District preps for school year as questions loom over funding for new high school
Voters cite concerns over consolidation plan, tax increase after Parma City Schools bond issue fails — again
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