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Wooster superintendent urges COPS financing, not a bond levy, and recommends smaller 3–5 building
Summary
Superintendent Tudor recommended the district not pursue a bond levy now and instead issue Certificates of Participation (COPS) to fund a new building, advising the board to favor a less expensive 3–5 intermediate school; he outlined costs, timelines and risks tied to future operating levies.
Superintendent Tudor told the Wooster City Schools board that the district needs to act on its aging facilities but recommended against asking voters for a bond levy now, citing weak tax sentiment and recent failed levies. "My recommendation to you this evening is that we do not pursue a bond levy for this project," he said, and proposed funding construction through a COPS issuance instead.
Tudor presented two preferred options: a new K–5 facility estimated at about $85,000,000 with $10–12 million in Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) contributions available, and a smaller 3–5 intermediate building estimated at about $47,000,000 with roughly $7 million in OFCC contributions. He gave district examples and said a bond-financed K–5 could require an estimated 4.6 mills (about $161 per $100,000 of home value in his example), while the COPS pathway would produce annual debt-service obligations he estimated at roughly $4.7 million per year for the K–5 option and about $2.6 million per year for the 3–5 option using a 30-year schedule at 5 percent.
Tudor warned that even if the board funded construction via bonds or COPS, an operating levy would still likely be necessary in the coming years. He pointed to the district's current cash reserves, including a $23,000,000 balance placed in a capital improvements (070) fund, and said his recommendation was to move that money back into the general fund while using COPS to finance the building so the district can delay an operating levy that the community may not support now.
Board members and the superintendent discussed OFCC timelines and master-plan change requirements; Tudor noted OFCC funding availability timelines and explained the calendar for a May ballot (resolution steps in early January to meet Board of Elections deadlines). He recommended the less-expensive 3–5 building with caution, saying he “would love the K–5” but was uncomfortable recommending it now because of the long-term operating impact.
Public commenters urged caution about displacing Cornerstone Elementary. Tate Emerson said vacating Cornerstone "will be an irreversible mistake" and asked the board to favor major repairs. Tudor acknowledged the community concern and said staff will continue outreach as the board weighs options.
Action at the meeting: the board approved a 4% consent resolution to keep the May levy option on the table pending further decisions and scheduled votes with the incoming board in January.
