NEWS

A new era begins for Lancaster City Schools

Carl Burnett Jr.
Reporter
Lancaster School Board members, from left, Kathy Kittridge, Lise Ricketts, and Amy Eyman cut the ribbon for the new Mt. Pleasant Elementary School on Broad Street Thursday.

LANCASTER – The first of five new elementary schools being built in the Lancaster City School District is now official opened and ready for students.

Lancaster Schools Superintendent Steve Wigton also indicated that this would not be the last of the school building projects for the district either.

Parents, administration, staff, students, and the public participated Thursday in the official ribbon cutting for Mt. Pleasant Elementary School, 712 N. Broad St., Lancaster.

"This means we are entering a new era by providing modern educational facilities for the success of our students," Lancaster schools superintendent Steve Wigton said.

Demolition of the old North Elementary School began in January 2013 with the grounding breaking for the new Mt. Pleasant Elementary School held at the same site in September 2013.

The finishing touches on the 30 classrooms that will house approximately 600 students in the two-story building, along with other rooms such as the media center, cafeteria and gymnasium in the roughly 75,000-square-foot building, was completed this month.

"The building has flexible educational spaces that will meet the need of our students long into the future," Wigton said.

Brenda Zeiders, Lancaster, said two of her children will be attending the new Mt. Pleasant Elementary in the fall.

"I think its great," Zeiders said. "Just think of the opportunities these young children are going to have."

Mary "Spec" Reed, said addressed the crowd saying she started at North School in 1925.

"I was opposed to them tearing down that building," Reed said after the ceremony. "I went there, my family went there, and there were just too many memories for me to want to see the building come down. But I've changed my mind. This is fantastic. What a wonderful future these kids who go here will have."

Mary “Spec” Reed, 96, talked about her memories of growing up in the old North School, which is at the site of the new Mt. Pleasant Elementary School.

Two more elementary schools, Gorsuch West and Tarhe Trails, are expected to be completed this August, and by the end of 2017, Lancaster is scheduled to finish Medill and Tallmadge.

The cost of the five-school construction project is being shared with the Ohio School Facilities Commission. The project cost is estimated at around $88 million. The local share, $52.6 million, is coming from a 37-year, 4.1-mill bond issue approved by voters in 2012.

As for this not being the end of the building process, Wigton said a recent financial assessment of the school district has indicated that due to budgeting and unexpected revenues, "if the community renews the income tax for a continuing period of time, two new junior high buildings can be financed."

"So if the voters just vote to keep the same taxes they have now, we will be able to build the two new junior high schools at no additional cost for the taxpayers," Wigton said.

The renewal of the district's 1.5 percent earned income tax will be on the November ballot.

cburnett@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4346

Twitter: @CarlBurnettJr

The new Mt. Pleasant Elementary School principal, Andy Smeltzer, talks to some new students who will be attending the school next year during the ribbon cutting ceremony held Thursday. Air conditioning, the new library and meeting new friends were what the students were looking forward to.