Berea School District Presents $100 Million Reconstruction Plan to City Council

Berea City School's Superintendent Mike Sheppard presented his administration's district-wide $100 million reconstruction plan to the City Council on Monday, reported Cleveland.com.

The plan would include the closure of Brookview and Brook Park Elementary Schools and the construction of a $75 million high school.

In addition, $25 million would go to renovating Grindstone and Big Creek Elementary Schools, Ford Intermediate School and Middleburg Heights Junior High School. Renovations would include doors, windows, doors, rooftops, asphalting and HVAC systems repairs.

The entire plan hinges on a tax increase between $136 to $153 for every $100,00 in home valuation. The tax plan has yet to pass.

Other than allotting resources for school fixes, the plan would change which schools students enroll in.

Brook Park Elementary School students would go to Ford Intermediate School. Ford Intermediate School students would attend Middleburg Heights Junior High, which would change from 7th through 9th to 5th through 8th. Ninth graders would head to the 10th to 12th Berea-Midpark High School.

To accommodate the different grade levels, the Middleburg Heights Junior School would be altered to split the 5th and 6th graders from the 7th and 8th graders.

The new high school is planned to open by the 2020-21 school year.

The proposal to close two elementary schools was met with some resistance from Mayor Tom Coyne and residents in February, which resulted in a new plan. Ford Intermediate School would still be demolished, but the 1,300-seat auditorium would remain and be converted into a performing arts center. Additionally, a $22 million elementary school would replace the Ford school.

The reconstruction plan would address the floundering enrollment rates, expensive renovations and the need to balance an $80 million budget, said Superintendent Sheppard.

Enrollment at Berea City District schools has decreased from 7,509 in 2004 to 6,423 in 2015, according to census data. The district projects the enrollment to decrease to 5,798 by 2020.

According to Berea School’s Treasurer Ryan Ghizzoni, the school closures would save the district $1.3 million, keeping the budget balanced.

The Berea Board of Education is worried that the plan would prove fruitless if residents didn't accept a tax increase, according to Cleveland.com.

Superintendent Sheppard said the district would need to temporarily close Brookview and Brook Park Elementary Schools for renovations if the plan doesn’t go through. Students would still need to be relocated temporarily. Also, Treasurer Ghizzoni noted that renovations would still be costly and still lead to a proposed tax increase.

Ward 3 Councilman Jim Maxwell approved of the plan, while the rest of the City Council remained fairly silent, according to Cleveland.com.

The Berea Board of Education will likely submit a bond issue worth at least $3.8 million bond in April for the November ballot.