Bexley City Schools presents $115 million Phase 1 facilities proposal, including new middle school and turf projects

A presenter for Bexley City Schools outlined a community-driven Phase 1 facilities package on the board agenda and said the district’s updated cost estimate for that package is about $115,000,000. The proposal would prioritize a new middle school, a five-year prioritized capital-repairs plan, stadium bleacher and facility repairs, and turf installations at Maryland and Montrose.

The presentation, which the presenter described as rooted in the district’s strategic plan, said Phase 1 is designed to address three goals: respond to the strategic-plan directive to create a facilities plan, address aging buildings and systems, and ensure facilities meet current and future student needs. "Phase 1 is really about taking meaningful steps toward this vision," the presenter said.

The presenter told the board the combined facilities and finance committees recommended four parts to Phase 1: a new middle school; prioritized capital repairs across the district over five years; stadium bleacher and related repairs; and turf installations at Maryland and Montrose. Vendor quotes updated turf pricing from the district's earlier estimate of $6,000,000 down to about $4,000,000, the presenter said. "A new total estimate for Phase 1 is about $115,000,000," the presenter added.

Officials said two forces shaped prioritization: student learning needs (including new STEM labs, collaborative spaces and capacity relief at middle and high schools) and the district’s aging infrastructure. The presenter said the district’s buildings average about 85 years old and that major systems such as HVAC, chillers, and roofing require work that typical maintenance budgets cannot cover.

On the middle school, the presenter said the combined committee made it a unanimous priority because a new building would relieve capacity at both middle and high schools, create modern learning spaces, and cause less disruption than a large renovation while students remain in place. The presentation included an estimate that building a new middle school could allow about 700 students to move into the new facility.

Design work has not been contracted, the presenter said, noting final architectural plans do not yet exist and would cost roughly 9–10% of project totals (the presenter estimated that at about $9–$10 million). The district said it will not commit to that design expenditure until voters approve the ballot measure.

Capital-expenditures items identified as essential in Phase 1 included boilers, windows, roofing, fire alarms, backup generators, drainage and replacement plans at Maryland, Montrose and the Cassingham Complex. For outdoor access, the presenter emphasized turf’s practical benefits: more playable days, fewer weather-related cancellations and greater usable capacity for athletics, band, physical education and community groups.

To illustrate the access difference, the presenter showed photos from Jan. 7 comparing muddy, closed fields at Maryland with an open turf field at Cassingham, saying the images show why turf can keep recess, athletics and practice running in wet conditions. The presenter acknowledged community concern about loss of green space at Central Bexley if a middle school footprint were built on existing turf, and offered mitigation steps: expanding student access to other athletic fields during the school day, prioritizing elementary recess and relocating some softball fields to Montrose and Maryland.

The presentation gave specific area figures: Cassingham’s existing turf is described as approximately 70,000 square feet; a conceptual three-story middle school footprint in one example would reduce that turf to about 12,500 square feet. The presenter said, however, that expanding access to the varsity field would increase student play space during the school day by roughly 31,000 square feet overall compared with current daytime access.

The presenter stressed that designs shown were conceptual and that Phase 2 and Phase 3 are future decisions the board would revisit after Phase 1 — the combined committee recommended a five-year review period but characterized that as a recommendation rather than an automatic trigger. The presenter also clarified that the district’s Cassidy Avenue land is not included in Phase 1 and is recommended only for a future phase.

The presenter closed by inviting community feedback through an online form on the district website and by emailing superintendent@bexley.us, and said that Dr. Fine will make a final recommendation to the board next month. The board was invited to ask questions following the presentation.