CANFIELD — A few dozen residents showed up Wednesday for the final of four facility meetings at Canfield High School, where they learned about problems with the building, which was constructed in 1966.

The building meetings began in September with Hilltop Elementary, then went to C.H. Campbell in October and the middle school in November.

Canfield High School principal Michael Moldovan talked about day-to-day issues in his building. Moldovan said the school was built in 1966 and was added on to in 1999. He said many of the problems come from the 1966 portion of the building.

He said the high school has, on average, 97 staff members and 725 students. The high school sits on 45 acres and has a good location near the center of Canfield. He said the size of the building is good, but some classrooms are too small.

“Anytime you add on to a building, you end up with large classrooms and very small ones,” Moldovan said. “Another issue is storage. As we add programs, we are finding it difficult to find storage.”

He said there are issues with WiFi and cellular service, the parking lot is prone to flooding, the building has leaks during hard rains, and there are foundation and moisture issues.

Cheryl Fisher from Then Design Architecture said the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) has determined it would take $50.3 million to renovate the high school and bring it up to OFCC code standards. The assessment covered a 23-point checklist of the facility.

One item on the checklist was air conditioning. Knoll said the district is in the third year of a replacement program for the 60 units on the high school’s large flat roof. So far, 40 have been replaced.

Fisher was asked about the use of state money to finish the air conditioner project and she replied the system the school is working with would not meet the OFCC high standards, so the units would not be eligible for the funds.

“Of that $50.3 million renovation list, the upcoming committee will have to decide its must-haves over what it would like,” Fisher said.

Canfield Local Schools Superintendent Joe Knoll wrapped up the meeting by restating the next step in the process. He said anyone wishing to serve on a facilities committee can sign up on the district’s website, clicking on school facilities and scrolling to the bottom of that page.

“On Jan. 23 we will hold our first educational visioning session,” Knoll said. “It will be by invite only. We hope that committee will come up with a master plan by April.”

He said that plan will be presented to the Board of Education to accept, reject or take action. Knoll said it will be the road map to take the Canfield Local School District into the next 50 years. The committee will have to decide what that will look like.

jtwhitehouse@vindy.com