The Elida School District is asking voters to approve a 2.8 mill bond issue, for a new elementary building. Staff members say the need for updated facilities is very real.
Marci Ripley has been with the Elida School District for 10 years, and all ten years she has been teaching 2nd grade out of one of the modular classrooms that sit behind the elementary school. She sees the need for a new school, not only to have a better learning environment for her students but increased safety for them too.
"There is no fixing the fact that we are just out of space. So we have multiple classrooms in modular buildings, where the students are entering and exiting, multiple times a day in all weather conditions," explained Ripley.
"We have four-second grade classrooms that are outside, we have our Title 1 Reading Program and any students that receive that have to go outside, we have two computer labs that are outside. Those are things that we use each and every day so students are in and out of the building a lot which puts a damper on the security," said Principal Michelle Allison.
Elida Elementary was built back in 1963 and now that building is serving around 950 kindergarteners through 4th-grade students. Elida is dealing with an aging infrastructure with heating and wiring and has had to repurpose closets and storage spaces for special education teachers, therapists, and social workers. As technology needs to be integrated into the learning and testing of the students, they currently have four computer labs and forty classrooms that need to use them.
"Just like society changes over the years so does education. Our learning styles and strategies, the curriculum, the standards, they all change. But in order to meet those needs, we need a building that will have an effective environment to do so," said Jennifer Kristoff, 2nd-grade teacher.
If voters approve the 2.8 mill bond issue on May 8th, that will pay for half of the 36 million dollar building project, with the state picking up the other half. The school district says if voters wait, the school's district part of the funding could rise along with construction cost.
"We are looking at building a school for our future and our students they are worth it, they are worth the vote."
Voters can log on to the school district's website to get more information about the bond issue and the proposed building.
