Toledo School District maintenance supervisor Derek McMillion, left, and former superintendent Sharon Bower look at a pump for Toledo High School's non-potable water system on Monday, March 17, 2014.
Students wait in line at the lunchroom/common area at Toledo High School. Officials in the Toledo School District hope to use bond money to renovate the high school, part of which would include expanding the lunch room and kitchen facilities.
Editor’s note: We continue our look into the schools of Lewis County this week with a trip to Toledo, a community that will ask the community to support a 25-year bond at a cost of $23.5 million to renovate Toledo High School, replace siding and roofing at the district’s elementary and middle schools and upgrade security systems at each school building.
TOLEDO — It’s in great shape on the outside, even picturesque in its location nestled among towering fir trees. But spend some time in Toledo High School and it becomes apparent the building is fraught with frailties.
The school, built in 1974, contains several elements that were never designed to actually be permanent. Thin walls separate classrooms, single-pane windows surround the building and cables for electrical components and computer networks visibly run along the walls of classrooms — all indications of the building’s age and a need to modernize the school.
“The high school essentially needs to be gutted and redone inside,” Toledo School District Superintendent Sharon Bower said.
Aside from what’s visible on the inside, some facilities are just inadequate, officials say, pointing to the lack of restrooms and working water fountains in the building due to old water lines. Aging locker rooms and science labs that can only handle a handful of students at one time round out one page on the list of problems officials cite as troublesome at Toledo High School.
Officials in Toledo are addressing the problems by signaling their intent to place a 25-year, $23.5 million bond on November’s ballot. If approved, money raised through the bond will pay for a complete renovation of Toledo High School, as well as upgrades to portions of Toledo Elementary School and Toledo Middle School. The money will also provide minor upgrades to facilities at the THS athletic fields, enabling contractors to build restroom facilities at the football field, among other small upgrades.
For each taxpayer, the bond would cost about $3.12 to $3.15 per $1,000 in assessed value at current tax rates. The state would provide about $8 million in matching funds.
Placing a bond before voters is no small task, especially in a school district that serves 780 students. The district’s enrollment continues to drop slowly but steadily — Bower notes 990 students attended schools in the district in 2005 — and with the economy in the small south Lewis County town still in a lurch, uncertainty remains at the forefront of the minds of several.
“There’s really no perfect time to run a bond,” Toledo School Board member Bill Moore said. “But for right now, the timing is about the best it’s going to be.”
Moore has held a seat on the Toledo School Board for the past 23 years, and he was involved in the decision-making process last time the district ran an $11 million bond in the 1990s, a bond that was paid off in 2012. Moore says successfully running a bond issue hinges on not only educating the public, but showing them a return on their investment.
“The process is so tedious, and it starts with showing the need,” Moore said. “People want to know what’s failing, the cost of upkeep — but they really want to know what are you going to get? What does it look like?”
The district is in the process of telling the public of the need. In fact, superintendent Bower will address the public on the bond proposal at the Vision:TOLEDO Big Community Meeting tonight. Moore says he looks at the money the district pays out for routine bills such as heat, gas and water at each of its buildings, and it’s a total that just continues to increase.
“I see the vouchers, especially for heating, electricity and natural gas each month. It’s just deadly,” Moore said. “Not only are costs going up, but the high school especially takes a ton to heat up.”
Back at the high school, students and teachers generally tend to enjoy a close rapport with each other. Just down the main hall from a trophy case that showcases athletic victories sits another one full of trophies for academic and musical achievements.
“Our kids are doing really well for the limited learning environment they have,” Bower said, referring to the infrastructure in place at the high school. “Our teachers and maintenance staff have done a remarkable job compensating for it.”
Student body president Kreed Askin, 18, agreed. The senior, who also featured on the school’s basketball team that recently took home sixth place in state, says he enjoys his time at Toledo High School.
“I like how the school’s run. There’s a lot of tradition here,” Askin said. “It’s always really spirited around here. … The teachers are doing whatever they can to help us.”
Askin spoke to The Chronicle while eating lunch in the high school’s commons, an area that quickly became crowded as students lined up to get their food. Students said frequent foot traffic jams plague the area near the kitchen, something they feel could use an upgrade as well.
It isn’t just the lunch area the students notice, however — some of the other quirks around the school have become noticeable as they sit in class and pass through the halls day after day.
“I do think it needs to be renovated,” Askin said. “There’s a lot of stuff like the water fountains and the walls that really need to be fixed.”
Fiscal responsibility is key when it comes to asking the public to commit to paying for a public facility. Moore and Bower both say they trust a relationship with the community that extends for several years, and hearken back to the last bond the district ran as evidence of that support.
“We’re being very prudent in what we’re asking for,” Bower said. “I don’t think we’re asking anyone to support anything other than just what we really need.”
“You have to do exactly what you say you’re going to do,” Moore said. “Everyone is going to be watching your every move. I’ve been here for years, and I know I’m going to watch that money.”
Moore says he ultimately knows the choice is up to the public, but also believes time is critical when it comes to getting the district’s buildings — especially the high school — up to par for the students of today. He didn’t mince his words when speaking about what would happen should the bond not reach the supermajority level in November’s vote.
“If we fail the bond, we’ll have to run it again,” Moore said. “There’s no other option. The building simply has to be fixed.”
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Christopher Brewer: (360) 807-8235
