District administrator recommends modular classrooms at Melrose and Parkview, proposes closing Cornerstone

The presenter, a district administrator for Wooster City Schools, recommended moving forward with modular classrooms at Melrose and Parkview, proposing that Cornerstone be closed as a school and that the board authorize staff to finalize a contract with Mobile Modular.

"I am making a recommendation today to move, to modulars and, and to to close Cornerstone," the presenter said, framing the proposal as a temporary solution while the district pursues a longer-term master plan.

The recommendation — described as elementary option B in the presentation — would place eight modular units (16 classrooms) at each Melrose and Parkview, include warming kitchens to avoid prolonged gym use for cafeteria service, and reorganize grade bands so that pre-K and K would attend Keene, grades 1–2 would attend Melrose and grades 3–4 would attend Parkview before moving to Edgewood in fifth grade.

The presenter argued the configuration would improve staffing efficiency and equity for services such as special education and gifted programs, noting that grouping grade levels can reduce uneven class sizes across neighborhood schools. "It also is a lot higher from a staffing efficiency," the presenter said when describing consolidated grade-level sections.

Safety and quality features highlighted in the presentation included modular units bolted to concrete foundations, shatterproof door glass, locked exterior doors, individual classroom temperature controls, and five-year roof and HVAC warranties. Classroom footprints up to 850 square feet were presented as larger than many existing rooms in the district.

The presenter rejected a high-school siting option and a three-site elementary option (Keene, Melrose and Parkview) partly because of redistricting impacts and site constraints, including easements and proximity to a water tower at Keene. "Redistricting we felt was a negative of that," the presenter said, citing likely socioeconomic imbalances if only Cornerstone students were redistributed across existing buildings.

The district also ruled out renovating Cornerstone as its preferred educational solution, estimating renovation costs at "easily over $30,000,000" and saying that building — originally constructed as a high school in the 1920s — would not match how the district would design an elementary school today. The presenter characterized the modular approach as a temporary measure that would still position the district for a future permanent plan.

On procurement and financing, the presenter said Mobile Modular is available through a cooperative purchase and asked the board to authorize administration ("Amy and I") to finalize contract details with legal review. The presenter said the district plans to seek certificates of participation (COPs) to finance the purchase and anticipated implementation in August 2027 if the board provides timely direction.

The presenter emphasized timeline risks: the units visited in Grandview were still on a vendor punch list and not yet ready for occupancy, and site work (foundations, sewer, water) will be required before a plug-in date. "This is not something that we should delay making a decision on," the presenter said, urging the board to act to preserve the target opening of August 2027.

Next steps presented to the board were a discussion and possible vote to authorize staff to finalize the Mobile Modular contract, complete legal review, and move forward with COPs financing; no board vote or final approval was recorded in the transcript.