Citizens for Quality Greenville Schools Presents Levy Information to Local Leaders

Saturday morning the "Citizens for Quality Greenville Schools" hosted a meeting with local leaders to detail the levy proposal and building plan, as well as answer any questions those in attendance may have. They invited county commissioners, city and village mayors and council members as well as township trustees to hear information regarding the plan to build a K-8 building on Ohio Street and to renovate the high school.

These leaders heard a presentation by campaign co-chairs Bob Rhoades and Chad Begoon detailing the plan's inception, the funding process, and focusing on how the district is constructed in terms of the many townships, villages and cities that make up the district (most of which can be found at the campaign's blog, located here).

The session was then opened to questions from the audience. County Commissioner Mike Stegall acknowledged that the most common questions he hears involve the basic question, "why not a K-12?" Rhoades explained that the property on Ohio Street is not large enough by current state standards to contain a K-12 building that would hold 2,700+ students. In addition, the state would not co-fund any work to a new high school since the state did not recommend replacing it after it's evaluation of the buildings earlier in the process. It was also noted that the current high school is in a more desirable location in terms of being in the middle of town and next to the stadium.

A question was asked regarding the ability of the new building to expand should enrollment increase beyond projected levels (the state did a 10 year enrollment study, the new building's capacity takes this projection into account). The architects (Garmann/Miller) also have designed the layout so that additional wings can be added, if necessary, to increase capacity later in the building's life cycle.

Overall, the mood was very positive from both campaign members and the public leaders in attendance. Members of the campaign encouraged everyone to make information about the levy available in public places and to field any questions they can among their constituents. It was also mentioned that, if desired, the campaign would be willing to hold meetings in the various townships and villages to share information and answer questions the public may have.