Facilities Planning Frequently Asked Questions

Bexley Schools requested an enrollment projection report through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission in early 2024. The report was completed by FutureThink, a Columbus planning firm,  and was published in April 2024. This report predicts no growth, or flat enrollment, for Bexley Schools through 2034. See the report online.

We are grateful for the Bexley community’s engagement in our facilities-planning work. Through in-person sessions, building-specific team meetings, online input, and more, our community has told us the following:

•  Neighborhood elementary schools, with Maryland, Cassingham, and Montrose located in each main area of the city, are valued and preferred.

•  Keeping the front façades of Montrose Elementary, Cassingham Elementary, and Bexley High School is desired, if possible.

 While they enjoy the central location of most of the school district’s athletic sites on the Cassingham Complex, many understand that one or more athletic venues may need to leave the Complex to allow for future expansion of the location’s school facilities.

Future changes to Bexley school facilities are not related to the November 2024 levy. The ballot issue Bexley voters will consider in November 2024 is for school operations only (i.e., staff salaries, benefits, student services, etc.). Funding generated by an operating levy is for a continuing period of time, while (bond) levies for capital projects function more like a mortgage with a payoff date.

The short answer is none. While Bexley Schools have taken advantage of some services offered by the OFCC, we do not expect to qualify for direct and immediate funding for building projects any time soon.

Each year, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce creates a K-12 District Equity List ranking all 609 public school districts in Ohio from lowest to highest, based upon a district’s average adjusted valuation per pupil. See the ODEW K-12 District Equity List for Fiscal Year 2024.

While the OFCC assists in funding new or remodeled school facilities, its funding formula, by law, assists districts with the lowest average per-pupil valuation first. The FY ’24 Equity List ranks the Bexley City School District 513 out of 609 public school districts in Ohio, meaning 512 school districts are eligible for state-funding assistance for facilities ahead of us.

According to ODEW, “A school district’s priority for state assistance is factored from the district's three-year average ‘income adjusted valuation per pupil,’ as calculated by the Department of Education pursuant to ORC Section 3318.011. Under that calculation, the district's taxable ‘valuation per pupil’ is adjusted by a factor reflecting the median income of the district's taxpayers. A district's valuation is the total value of all property in the school district as assessed for tax purposes.”

A final District Facilities Plan recommendation will be sent to the Bexley Board of Education in the spring of 2025. If the Board approves a District Facilities Plan that includes substantial remodeling or rebuilding of one or more Bexley School facilities, the school district must secure funding sources before construction or remodeling work can be done.

It is financially difficult for schools to use operating funds to pay for capital improvements (e.g., school construction, building upgrades, etc.). Typically, public school districts issue bonds to generate funds for repair, construction, or replacement of school facilities. A bond levy must be approved by district voters before bonds can be issued by the district.

In a bond-levy election, voters decide whether to authorize a school district to issue bonds in a specified amount. Investors who buy the bonds are paid back, with interest, using funds collected through property taxes.

We understand that the environment where our students learn directly impacts how they learn and their experiences in our schools. The Bexley Schools’ Strategic Plan “Championing Our Future identifies facilities as one of three themes of the plan. 

The facilities theme details three goals: 

• Goal One: Develop a BCSD master facilities plan that will efficiently utilize spaces and resources to address the district's growing population and evolving needs.

• Goal Two: Prioritize flexible and adaptive spaces to support dynamic teaching and meet the needs of every learner.

• Goal Three: Create welcoming spaces that promote safety and belonging for all.

The Facilities Plan will be developed with experts in educational architecture and construction and will include community, staff, and student involvement. This plan will help guide and direct the future steps for goals two and three. 

Bexley Schools’ debt limit is $183 million as of 2024. 

A facilities plan takes a broad look at school district facilities, assessing those facilities both from a physical and educational delivery viewpoint. It incorporates both the practical aspects of the current state of mechanics and infrastructure (roofing, internal systems like HVAC and plumbing) with the impacts on educational environments (classroom capacity, mobility, etc.). 

At the end of the facility planning process, the district will have a document of recommendations for improvement to each facility that outlines both short- and long-term priorities. It’s important to note that the recommendations will be used as a roadmap for how improvements should be made.

The facilities plan will be a living document, which can be reviewed and revised as educational delivery and student population needs evolve. Presented as a planning document (not as an architectural design), the plan provides opportunities for refinement in any resulting facility project.