CENTERBURG — Superintendent Ryan Gallwitz shed light on the Centerburg Local School District’s capacity to handle increased enrollment in light of potential housing developments on Johnsville and Croton roads.
Speaking at Monday’s village council meeting, Gallwitz said the numbers reflect general scenarios.
“It’s incredibly difficult to predict the future when you don’t know exactly what the plans are, what’s approved, what’s being built, or how many students and so forth,” he told the council.
Current enrollment is 1,044 students, down slightly over the past 10 years. Gallwitz said declining enrollment is a statewide trend and not unique to Centerburg schools.
The Ohio Schools Facility Commission (OSFC) uses square footage to determine how many students a district’s buildings can accommodate.
The elementary building is approximately 65,000 square feet. Under the OSFC formula, it can hold 520 students. There are 457 currently, with room for an additional 63.
The high/middle school is approximately 133,000 square feet. That excludes the gymnasium, auditorium, and weight room because they are not classroom spaces.
“That building can hold 831 students, or essentially 244 more students. So total, if you add all that up, we can handle about 307 more students,” Gallwitz said.
School officials use a ratio of 0.8 youths per household to determine potential enrollment.
However, Gallwitz said that number varies based on the type of house built.
High-density housing increases the 0.8 factor, potentially up to 1.5 or two kids per household. Conversely, low-density, higher-end homes could indicate a value below 0.8.
For example, Gallwitz said that mostly retired people bought homes in the Schlabach development on Upper Gilchrist Road because that demographic is the only one that can afford them.
How many new students will there be?
Using the 0.8 number, 375 new homes generate 300 students. The district could handle that, provided they span all grade levels.
“If all 300 students are kindergarten students, we have a problem,” Gallwitz said. “If they’re spread out overall, K through 12, we can fit them in.”
Gallwitz said filling up a classroom and filling up a building are different.
“When you’re filling up a classroom, you have 25 seats, and you only have 20 students in that classroom. There are five spots left that you can add kids in without additional costs,” he explained.
“When you’re filling up the building, it means you have an empty classroom that you have to hire a teacher for as you’re filling up that classroom. That’s when additional costs come in.”
Other factors that influence the calculation include the number and severity of special-needs students, as well as whether students attend the Knox County Career Center.
Gallwitz emphasized that the above calculations do not include the preschool. The old high school building on Preston Street houses the preschool.
“What I’m saying is if that old building dies tomorrow, if we have a major failure of a heating system, a roof collapse or something like that, and I have to move preschool into the elementary again, we’re full without any new houses being built,” he said.
“I want everybody to understand that right now, we’re going day to day with the old high school. We make the repairs that we need to do, but at some point — that building was built in 1923 — we will have to make a decision on the future of that building, and it will impact what we do with future growth.”
What happens with future developments?
Gallwitz said that if the Johnsville and Croton road developments use up available space, options include putting up portable classrooms or building new.
If building is the option, Gallwitz suggested an intermediate building for fourth- fifth- and sixth-graders. The elementary would serve pre-K through third grade, and the high school would serve seventh through 12th grade.
“The reality is, once we have more than 300 kids and we have to add additional space, you’re looking at $430 a square foot to build,” he said, adding that costs range between $425 and $450 a square foot.
“We would probably need a 60,000 square-foot addition or facility. You’re looking at a $25 million to $30 million dollar project.”
Gallwitz acknowledged that is the worst-case scenario, but said extreme growth is on the horizon.
“It’s so hard to predict because you don’t know if they’re all going to be kindergarten kids, if they’re going to be a student with disability, if they’re going to be lots of kids going to the career center,” he said.
Building something would likely entail a $3.5 million to $5 million property tax increase. An alternative way to generate money is through an income tax.
“How you handle the zoning on these two [developments] may set the stage for where you’re going in three, four, or five,” Gallwitz told the council.
Not enough new revenue
Gallwitz acknowledged new housing developments will generate additional revenue but said it will not cover costs.
At 350 new homes with a household income of $150,000, the district’s .75% income tax would generate $393,000 in additional income.
Assuming an average value of $400,000, 350 new homes would generate around $1 million in property taxes.
Gallwitz said if the village institutes a New Community Authority on the new houses, it would generate some money, but not a large amount.
The district spends an average of $13,512 per student. Actual costs differ based on whether they need additional services and support.
“If you just do basic math and say we’re going to have 300 more kids and you multiply it times that, you’re looking at roughly $4 million to educate kids,” Gallwitz said.
“Now, you can argue that if we’re filling up seats, it doesn’t cost any more, and you’re right. But ultimately, when we’re filling up rooms, and I have to hire more staff as our housing developments begin to fill up, that’s when you’re going to see quite a bit more cost to the district.
“So, if you add up all the scenarios of the funding, we could potentially … be in a net loss or additional cost, however you want to word it, I come up with $742,000.”
Early discussions for the Johnsville Road subdivision called for a higher density of single-family homes. However, David Sahr of Hondros Family of Companies said at the March council meeting that revised plans call for a lower density of around 250-255 homes.
The Croton Road subdivision is projected to be around 92 homes.
