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POLAND -- In the week since a bond issue fused with an additional tax levy for new schools was soundly defeated in the Nov. 7 election, plans for moving forward are a bit nebulous, but they will not include another such measure any time soon, the top school official says.
"Right now, we've heard loud and clear that the taxpayers want us to fix up the current buildings and utilize the current space," district Superintendent Craig D. Hockenberry said after Wednesday's regular board meeting at Dobbins Elementary School, 3030 Dobbins Road.
The bond issue and tax levy, with a combined 12.15 mills, would have brought in around $105 million over 37 years and provided for several new school buildings in the district.
Hockenberry was unable to offer a clear blueprint for what the district will do going forward, but much of the planning likely will center on efforts to make certain realignments to the six buildings and the district's student population, he said.
"Nothing's off the table," Hockenberry added.
Of the six buildings in the district, North and Union elementary schools remain closed, with the latter being used for law enforcement purposes.
The student configurations in the other four schools may need adjusted because more than 600 students in kindergarten through third grade attend an overcrowded McKinley Elementary. Those in grades four to six go to Poland Middle School, and seventh- and eighth-graders attend Poland Seminary High School.
Dobbins Elementary is for preschoolers and houses the district's administrative offices, the superintendent explained.
The possibility of reopening North and /or Union elementary schools also could factor into the district's realignment plans. If one of those facilities reopens, that could cause a domino effect in better realigning students, he continued.
Whatever plans district officials adopt, cost will be a major factor, Hockenberry stressed.
During the meeting's public comments portion, Michael Fabian of Poland, who was chairman of the "Say No to New Schools in Poland" campaign, thanked the board for trying to pass the levy, but expressed concern about its length, as well as what he felt could have eventually resulted to a lack of accountability regarding how the money may have been spent.
"I think the levy was too long and too much," he said.
Fabian added that he feels many such levies rely too heavily on property taxes and should be based more on income taxes, a move some districts have adopted.
"I think that ship sailed," Fabian said, adding that some voters may have rejected the levy because of recent property tax assessments combined with inflation.
Fabian added that he would like the district to hire a facilities construction manager who could assess what needs to be done to preserve or repair the four existing schools.
"We need to be smart about what we're doing," he continued.
Fabian theorized that if the levy had passed, the new schools that would have been built likely would have undergone the same type of construction as their predecessors.
Some voted "no" on the recent levy and bond issue because they felt it was irresponsible to build new schools at the same time the district's student population was declining.
In her five-year forecast presented at Wednesday's session, treasurer Janet Muntean displayed a chart showing a steady enrollment decline since 2016. That year, 1,926 students were in the district, compared to 1,685 this year, according to her figures.
Plans related to the levy included new middle and high schools built on their current sites, along with a new elementary school at the current McKinley Elementary location.
A bond issue introduced eight years ago that was defeated called for renovating the high school and adding a K-8 school on Dobbins Road, which would have provided the funding for both projects.