BRUNSWICK, Ohio — Brunswick High School is a sprawling, 340,000 sq. foot facility that has largely exceeded its lifespan.
The building is a hodgepodge of three separate structures, the East house, the West house, and the Center house, that was constructed over the course of two decades and connected by a roof to create the current Brunswick High School.
The school district recently released new details about a project for a new high school that will be left up to voters come to the November election. A new building would be 285,000 square feet and could be open for the 2026-27 school year to house about 1,800 students,
"Over time we have tied multiple systems together and that’s really caused a lot of issues that we have,” said Superintendent Jason Niedermeyer. “We have two different HVAC systems. Two different kinds of roofs.”
Because of the age of the structure and the complexity of its dated infrastructure, keeping up with the maintenance has been a costly battle. The school’s HVAC system has leaking Victaulic fittings that cause fluid to drip through the ceiling tiles and trash cans are often used to catch rainwater from dripping ceilings.
“We have a failing roof system,” Niedermeyer said. “Students have to dodge garbage cans to get in and out of their lockers.”
The school district has contacted multiple contractors to explore the faulty roof, but the solution isn’t a quick fix.
“Because it’s a membrane roof, we’re really struggling to find how we can patch and repair this area of the building,” Niedermeyer said.
Fixing the HVAC is not only time-consuming but costly. Replacing the two HVAC systems would cost approximately $18.4 million and would also require a revamped electrical system that would run upwards of $10.5 million.
Further complicating matters is the difficulty of addressing the leaking in the current system. Miles of piping allow fluid to travel throughout the building. Fixing the failed fittings would require draining the system, repairing the issue, and then refilling the entire system.
“That’s a five to seven day process and if it’s in the middle of winter, we don’t have the ability to run our building with no heat,” Niedermeyer said.
The laundry list of problems also includes outdated classrooms. Many electrical outlets don’t work and things like faucets and Bunsen burners are inoperable.
“It kind of makes you sad as a parent that that's what your kid is spending their entire day going to,” said Kelly Worsencroft, whose son is a junior at Brunswick High School.
“Last year my son had a chemistry class and when we walked his schedule, the chemistry class almost looked like it used to be a really big closet that they had transformed into a chemistry lab,” she said.
The bond issue on the ballot this November would pay for a completely new building. It would cost taxpayers $7.14 per $100,000 of home value. With an average home value in Brunswick and Brunswick Hills of roughly $275,000, it breaks down to less than $20 per month.
“If we don't do this now, what kind of in especially for my daughter, who's in eighth grade, what's that building going to look like when she's celebrating her senior year?” Worsencroft said.
School officials say they could receive funding help from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. If the bond passes, the OFCC would cover 39% of the project, or $42.6 million.
“It didn’t make sense to us to say we’re not going to put this in front of voters. It’s $42.6 million dollars, Niedermeyer said. “This project would have a impact on generations of students to come.”
