Cuyahoga Falls City leaders outline plan for consolidated middle–high campus, stressing safety, traffic and staggered opening

Cuyahoga Falls City school leaders on Tuesday laid out operational plans for a new consolidated middle- and high-school campus, sharing tentative start dates, bell schedules, traffic routing and safety measures while cautioning that several procedures will be adjusted after the first days of operation.

"My name is Andrea Solico. I'm the superintendent of schools," Superintendent Andrea Solico told families, saying the district has “been planning for months” and expects students to begin use of the facility in January. Solico said the district will provide walkthroughs for students in December, an orientation for families in October and additional informational sessions in August before the move.

The district presented a tentative bell schedule that projects the student day will run about 7:55 a.m. to 2:50 p.m., and officials said middle- and high-school schedules will align to permit shared programming and allow middle-school students access to advanced classes. "We are going to follow this from the start of the next school year," Mr. Jason Smith, the high school principal, said while noting times could be tweaked as staff learn how traffic and circulation perform in practice.

Traffic and parking were a focal point. Administrators showed a campus circulation plan that separates car-rider lanes from bus routes, uses two primary visitor/entry points, and keeps some entrances exit-only during school hours to reduce backups. Buses will stage from 13th Street and drop students curbside on campus; until permanent lots are finished, student drivers would use the stadium lot and walk to the front entrance. "We don't foresee it being a major issue" once procedures are established, Smith said, while also warning the district will monitor and adjust traffic patterns during the first days and weeks.

Officials addressed safety and security in detail. Mr. Smith said the campus is expected to have about 234 cameras and that the district will employ a full-time school resource officer and additional security staff. The plan includes controlled vestibules where visitors check in and receive badges, door-prop alarms on exterior doors, environmental sensors including vape detectors, and staff emergency communication tools. "We will have a full-time school resource officer and we will have security staff as well," Smith said.

Leaders also described architectural and operational features meant to limit interaction between younger and older students. Middle-school students will be grouped into grade-level "pods"—teams of roughly 100 students—housed so core classrooms are adjacent and students remain within their pod for most of the day. Presenters pointed to fire doors and separate circulation lines drawn on slides that keep middle- and high-school pathways distinct except for brief hallway crossings.

Lunchtime logistics drew sustained attention. Administrators acknowledged concern that shared serving areas and overlapping lunches could create congestion; they proposed a phased serving approach in which portions of each grade access the serving line in sequence during a 30-minute lunch period so students can pass through efficiently. "Our lunch periods will be a half hour regardless of whether it's middle school or high school," Smith said, adding that the plan will be adjusted if necessary after initial operations.

What remains tentative Several operational details officials called out as subject to change after the district observes how the building functions with full student occupancy: traffic-flow timing, exact bell adjustments to account for walking times through the larger building, and the final construction of student parking. Solico said submitted questions will be collected by QR code and turned into a frequently asked questions document to be released before summer break.

Next steps and contact District leaders said they will publish a recording of the presentation and accompanying slides in a few weeks, circulate FAQs, and schedule additional family walkthroughs and orientation events. Staff remained after the presentation to take questions from attendees and asked families to submit items they would like addressed via the online form shown at the meeting.