Greenon superintendent: ‘We are excited as we start to see this building take shape’

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Construction on Greenon Local Schools new $50 million kindergarten through 12th grade school is progressing as scheduled, according to the superintendent.

In a video posted on Greenon Local School’s Facebook page, Brad Silvus, Superintendent of Green Local School District, said the building will begin to take shape shortly as construction continues.

“Coming up in May, you are going to see a lot more work on the site,” Silvus said.

Crews are expected to start laying the foundation this week, he said.

MORE: Greenon gives public first look at designs of new $50M school

In late April work was done underground on water, sanity and all the pipe connections, Silvus said.

“We are excited as we start to see this building take shape and we will continue to have much more work done underground and on temporary fire hydrants,” Silvus said.

Ground was broken for the school in September of 2018.

Greenon gave the public their first look at their new school in late March at a school board meeting. Summit Construction and SHP Leading Design gave presentations about the schools progress as well as showed a 3D rendering video walk through of the new school.

Voters approved a $36 million bond issue to build the new school by 500 votes in May of 2017. The 6.98-mil bond will cost a taxpayer who owns a $100,000 property in the district about $20 a month. The state will pick up $18 million of the costs through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission.

The new building is being constructed on the current site of the Indian Valley Intermediate School However, Indian Valley will remain open during construction but will close once the new school opens, as will 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.

According to floor plans, the school will be divided into three “pods.”

One pod will house the center of the building, the other is for elementary aged students in grades kindergarten through sixth and the third pod will house remaining students.

Both student sections will have their own media centers, libraries and special education classrooms. However, only the pod for high school students will have classrooms designed for agricultural and business education.

The center of the building, or the “core” as it’s referred to in floor plans, is where students, teachers and parents will enter the building, for that reason, this area will have added security.

MORE: Road improvements will come with new Greenon school project

Silvus said previously the new school will also offer secured buzz-in doors.

“We will have secured entrance, doors on timers so that they are open in the morning and once the school starts they lock down,” Silvus said.

The core will also be where the dining area, gym and music spaces will be located.

Dennis Henry, Greenon school board president, said previously that as the construction process continues, he wants to continue being upfront with the community about everything.

“We consider the community a vital part of the process of building a new school and look forward to working together to create a new facility that will be a source of pride for the entire district,” Henry said.


Facts & Figures:

2: Years until Greenon Local’s new school might open

$36M: Bond Greenon voters approved in 2017 for new school

$18M: Amount state will contribute to the new school

The Springfield News-Sun has provide continued coverage of the Greenon school building projet, tracking developments every step of the way, including examing the state of the current buildings, attending community forums and digging into what the new building might look like.

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