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Olentangy Local presents five-year capital plan; Shanahan Middle School slated for phased updates
Summary
District facilities staff presented an update to the five-year capital plan, outlining limited bond funds, planned window and track projects, and a facilities committee review of long-term options for Shanahan Middle School including a likely two-year restroom and flooring renovation.
Mister Gordon, the district facilities presenter, told the Olentangy Local School District Board of Education on Jan. 9 that the district is balancing shrinking permanent-improvement (PI) collections with growing maintenance needs across aging buildings.
Gordon said remaining bond funds from the 2020 levy will fund the final year of planned work on roofs, buses and mechanicals, but those dollars cover only part of upcoming needs. He said the district moved some general-fund money into capital to avoid deferred maintenance. “Deferred maintenance ends up costing us more in the long run,” Gordon said.
The presentation listed several near-term projects: a phase-two window replacement at older buildings (budgeted at $675,000), annual asphalt and flooring bids, roofing bids, and resurfacing of two athletic tracks. Gordon said two projects from the last levy (Shell Meadows and Berlin Middle School) were closed out with contractor contingency savings and interest earned on bond funds.
A central focus of the presentation was Shanahan Middle School. Gordon told the board the district has begun a master-planning process with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) and will use enrollment projections and a build-out analysis to evaluate the building’s long-term viability. He said the OFCC assessment affects funding eligibility: if a renovation would cost 66% or more of new construction, OFCC funding typically requires replacement rather than renovation.
Gordon outlined immediate planned work at Shanahan if the building remains in service: a probable two-year phase to renovate restrooms, flooring replacements, and casework updates (he described cabinetry last updated roughly 30 years ago). He said the district has already begun replacing front-school signage and plans front-entry appearance improvements.
Board members asked how OFCC funding works and what district share to expect. Gordon said OFCC would likely provide a district credit in the future and that the district’s current estimated OFCC share is “somewhere between 21–23%,” a figure he tied to OFCC’s equity and funding formula. He added that OFCC does not fund some site-specific or program features — for example, athletic fields and many auditorium features typically fall outside OFCC vertical-construction funding.
Gordon and board members said the facilities committee will continue work over the coming months and that community members with construction or design expertise are welcome to join the committee. The board did not take final action on Shanahan’s long-term status at the meeting; Gordon said the committee will return with recommendations after further analysis.
Ending: The board scheduled bids and routine capital procurement (asphalt, flooring, roofing) for upcoming meetings; no construction contract awards or levy proposals were finalized at this session.
