“We are currently on the elementary side, drywall is up, classrooms are starting to come together, lightening is finished, cabinetry is finished, and now we are starting to rotate to the high school side,” Knapke said.
Knapke said he’s excited about getting students into the new “state of the art building,” and that the district has had nothing but positive feedback from the community.
“The kids are excited, we’re excited, the board members are excited. You can see from the inside what it’s going to look like and we are really excited just to get into the new building and get started and we plan to do that after Labor Day of 2021,” Knapke said. “We have had nothing but positive feedback from the community. Everyone is excited, I think you can tell.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Voters approved a $36 million bond issue for construction of the school in May of 2017. The 6.98-mill bond costs a taxpayer who owns a $100,000 property in the district about $20 a month. The state picked up about $18 million of the costs through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.
The new school will be located at the northeastern corner of Rebert Pike and Enon-Xenia Road and is being built on the current site of Indian Valley Intermediate School. Indian Valley has remained open during construction but will close once the new school opens, as well as Enon Primary and Greenon High School.
The new school will be for all students in the district but will be divided so that students of different age groups won’t intermingle. One pod will house the center of the building, the second is for elementary-age students in grades kindergarten through sixth and the third pod will house the remaining students.
Both student sections will have their own media centers, libraries and special education classrooms. Only the pod for high school students will have classrooms designed for agricultural and business education.
The center of the building is where students, teachers and parents will enter the building and will also be where the dining area, gym and music spaces will be located.
Knapke said the district toured at least five other school facilities across the state before deciding on the three pod format.
“We collaborated with a group of stakeholders throughout the community. Teachers also had a ton of involvement with the process,” Knapke said.
Ground was broken for the school in September 2018 and Summit Construction and SHP Leading Design are leading the project.
Facts & Figures:
$36 million: Bond issue approved by voters for the construction of the new Greenon school
6.98: Mill bond approved in 2017 by voters for the school
$18 million: Additional costs paid by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission
About the Author
