“Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center (CTC) is gearing up for another attempt to rally the community to support the construction of a new school building,” said Superintendent Michelle Patrick.
The 1.4-mill levy would fund the local cost to build a nearly $90 million new facility with the state contributing 62% of the base $63 million building cost.
In June, the CTC board worked to refine the ballot language, which now includes a clear distinction between the 37-year bond that’s .94 mills and a continuing levy that’s .46 mills.
“The total funding ask to the community is still 1.4 mills. In previous ballots, it was presented as one tax levy for 1.4-mills. This upcoming ballot language will show the funding request as a tax levy for .46 mills and a bond issue for .94 mills,” Patrick said.
“We heard from the community that there was confusion about the permanence of the levy and questions about the issuance of bonds, which is how most of our school districts have framed their requests for new construction projects. This adjustment to the language aims to clarify these points,” said board president Jamie Callan.
The levy is estimated to generate $4,469,000 annually, according to the Clark County Auditor’s Office. It would be $49 a year, or about $4 a month, for a property valued at $100,000.
The cost of the entire project is expected to be $89,528,662.
The total includes the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) contribution of 62%, or about $38.7 million, and CTC’s share of about 38%, or $24.5 million, for the base part of the new building. The combined levy and bond issue would raise an additional $26.2 million for items CTC identified as a need, bringing its total to about $59 million, including ongoing maintenance funds.
The OFCC provides a portion of state funding for school construction projects that meet its requirements. Approval for the CTC project was given in August 2023, and CTC originally had 13 months, until September, to come up with its share of the money in order to be granted the state’s portion.
At the end of May, the OFCC passed a resolution to grant schools like CTC an additional three months through December to secure local funding, Patrick said. Because of this, CTC is now able to go to the ballot one more time.
CTC has roughly a 60-year-old campus, among the oldest in the state. It wants to replace its seven existing buildings at 1901 Selma Road with a single, up-to-date facility that would include additional classroom facilities, equipment, furnishings and site improvements needed for additional enrollment.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The current campus is a little more than 182,000 square feet, and a new facility will add 29,000 square feet, giving them closer to 210,000 square feet. The school currently has nearly 800 students, but turned away more than 700 students between 2013 and 2023 and another 200 students for the 2024-25 year due to the lack of space. That additional space is one of the reasons CTC sought the levy.
“Our space constraints have more than doubled the number of students we’ve turned away in the past five years, hindering our ability to meet the growing demand for career-tech programs and skilled workers in our local economy,” said executive director Chris James.
CTC offers high school students more than 20 programs in high-demand career fields such as healthcare, welding and manufacturing, residential and commercial electrical and carpentry, and auto repair.
“These programs are essential to our community, supplying interns, apprentices and full-time employees to alleviate the local labor shortage. For the 2023-24 school year, 131 CTC students participated in work placement, earning over $1.2 million and contributing to the local economy,” Patrick said. “Numbers like this set us apart and demonstrate why CTC is indispensable to Clark County. We’re not just a school; we are a cornerstone of education and business in this community.”
The new facility would be built on the current property, south of the administrative building, so no additional funding would be needed to purchase land. It would also be far enough away from the existing structures that it wouldn’t interrupt school while it was being built.
“Funding a new building ensures our students are equipped to fill local jobs and contribute meaningfully to the community immediately after graduation, if not while still attending high school. The path to success varies for each of our students, but ultimately, the end goal is the same — a successful and fulfilling career,” she said.
In March, voters rejected the levy for the second time with 53.57% (11,506 people) of voters who opposed the levy and 46.43% (9,971 people) who supported the levy.
Last November, the levy failed for the first time with 55.36% (21,684 people) against it and 44.64% (17,488 people) for it.
For more information and FAQs on the levy, visit www.scctc.org/facility-project.
About the Author
