SPRINGBORO, Ohio — The Springboro school district is updating its master facilities plan to include construction of a new elementary school.
“This is about ensuring that we have the best possible learning environments for our students and our teachers,” Superintendent Carrie Hester said in the first of a series of videos explaining the district’s planning process.
School officials said the Board of Education likely will place a 2.8-mill bond levy renewal on the November ballot, with voters deciding whether to fund the master plan.
“What will be on the ballot in November will not be an increase,” said David Conley of Rockmill Financial Consulting, which is working with the school district.
The school district is saying that the November bond issue, if approved, would replace an existing bond that paid for previous school construction, once that bond is paid off. In general, a renewal keeps the tax rate that people pay the same, but extends that tax for many more years into the future.
The Warren County Auditor’s Office confirmed Springboro has an existing 2.8-mill bond, but said they cannot yet state the amount a taxpayer would owe under a new bond until the school district files the necessary paperwork to put the issue on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.
School project details
An advisory team for the schools said that a recent community survey showed a majority of respondents supported building a new school for pre-kindergarten through second grade instead of an option for a new building for third through sixth grades.
District parents Lynn Greenberg, Jenny Jackson and Kayla Horvath, who is also a district teacher, said during a Wednesday presentation to the Springboro Board of Education that the survey garnered more than 1,000 responses from district parents, teachers and community members.
A new school would cost an estimated $66.57 million, plus the plan identified numerous other improvements and upgrades for a total project cost of $115 million for the district of about 6,100 students.
Those other upgrades include a multipurpose stadium for $6.99 million, a cafe at the junior high school for $6.9 million to enhance food offerings and $35.5 million in other work, such as adapting Dennis and Five Points elementary schools for third through sixth grades, enhanced safety and security, community space at the intermediate school, traffic flow improvements, HVAC systems, student furniture, technology upgrades and improvements for performing and fine arts and athletics, Jackson said.
SHP Architecture and Design will be working with Springboro Schools through the summer to further define and prioritize specific projects, said Bryce Blanton, district communications coordinator.
If voters approve the tax funding via the bond issuance in November, the expected timeline for the new building is for the design phase to continue through next year and for construction to possibly start in 2027 with a completion in time for the 2029-30 academic year, Jackson said.
The location of the new school was not part of the presentation. However, the school district and city of Springboro in March reached an agreement on the potential exchange of 20 acres of the city’s 60-acre parcel in the 103-acre Easton Farm housing development at 605 N. Main St. (Ohio 741) for two district-owned parcels.
The city would receive the former Jonathan Wright property, about 6.5 acres at 40 Florence Drive between East Central Avenue (Ohio 73) and West Market Street. The second parcel is the 14-acre Clearcreek Elementary School site at 750 S. Main St. once it is no longer in use. The city would be responsible for demolition.
In some of the survey responses, parents expressed interest in banding the grades together in third through sixth grades as well, by designating Dennis and Five Points elementary schools for either third and fourth grades or fifth and sixth grades, though advisory team members said that option may involve increased transportation costs.
“I do think there’s a lot of strength to that if we can figure out the other pieces,” said school board President Lisa Babb.
Financial details
School district Treasurer Terrah Stacy said the potential 2.8-mill bond levy on the November ballot should not cost additional money because a 28-year bond issue approved in 1995 to build Springboro High School was paid off in 2023. Also, a 28-year bond issue to build Dennis and Five Points elementary schools will be paid off in 2032, she said.
When debt is structured, bonds are sold that mature at various intervals, leading to a drop in what is owed, she said.
“Springboro Schools has a millage that will be falling off in January of 2026. If that millage remains, a new building and other improvements could occur without increasing your taxes,” Stacy said.
If the levy is rejected in November, a resident’s property taxes would drop by about $98 per year for each $100,000 of appraised property value because of the old millage coming off the tax rolls, according to a master facility planning overview on the district’s website.
“We think it’s remarkable that we can accomplish a lot for our future situation without raising our tax dollars,” Jackson said.
