West Geauga board reviews conceptual plans for new middle/high school and field house; parents raise concerns about gym and field loss

Abby Ranieri, a project lead from GPD, presented conceptual campus plans to the West Geauga Local Board of Education that show a new combined middle and high school sited where current practice fields are located and a possible standalone field house if voters approve a May 6 bond issue. Ranieri said the district could begin design in the spring or summer after a successful vote, with roughly 12–15 months for design and about two years for construction, putting a potential opening in the fall of 2028.

The plans Ranieri showed depict two academic wings flanking a central secure entry — the top wing proposed as a two-story middle school “school-within-a-school” and the bottom wing as a two-story high school wing. Dining and auditorium spaces are shown centrally so they can serve either school, and the design team sketched options to provide distinct entries or a single secure vestibule controlled during the school day. Ranieri emphasized the renderings are conceptual and that GPD would “really start fresh in the design process should the bond issue pass and should we move forward with this project,” adding that community and staff feedback will shape…