Superintendent: ODOT grant could fund turn lane; second access drive moving forward
Summary
Superintendent Buskirk told the board that meetings with the Butler County Engineer and ODOT produced a tentative agreement to prioritize SR‑63 intersection improvements and possibly include a Yankee Road turn lane in grant funding; tree removal and scheduling were discussed with a target to have the drive ready for next school year.
Superintendent Buskirk updated the Monroe Local Schools Board on Dec. 15 about progress on a second access drive for the new addition and related traffic improvements. "We are moving forward with that second access drive," Buskirk said, reporting a positive follow‑up meeting with the Butler County Engineer's Office and participation from ODOT.
Buskirk said ODOT indicated it may be able to cover the SR‑63 intersection work through grants and could include a turn lane on Yankee Road as part of the application, framing the intersection work as the grant priority and the turn lane as secondary. He said a tentative agreement has been drafted and that tree removal is scheduled to meet environmental timing constraints: "we're gonna start dropping trees in January ... you have to get trees dropped before that March 31 date," referring to the bat‑season restriction.
Board members asked whether district land would be affected. Buskirk replied the county typically takes possession of the roadway area during construction and the district likely will lose a small piece of ground to right‑of‑way, but he described the trade as minimal and worth the county managing the project and utility relocation. He also announced a ribbon‑cutting for the new wing and a target date for students to begin using new spaces on Jan. 6.
No formal contract vote on the road work was taken at the meeting; Buskirk said estimates and documentation are being finalized and staff are preparing next steps for board consideration.
