Facilities Master Planning
Your Voice Matters!
Facilities Master Planning Phase Two
Beginning in the fall of 2015, the Upper Arlington community came together to craft a long-term facilities master plan for the district’s aging schools. Thousands of residents, students and staff members shared their thoughts on the best path forward. This community-driven effort ultimately resulted in a new Upper Arlington High School and five new or renovated elementary schools — as well as a decision to delay needed work on Hastings and Jones middle schools and Burbank Early Childhood school until a phase two.
Now, a decade after the community initially embarked on a facilities master planning process for Upper Arlington’s schools, the community has come together again over the past two years to determine the best path forward for the district’s aging middle schools and Burbank Early Childhood School. The result of this work — and more than 8,500 touch points with stakeholders throughout the process — is a phase two master plan that was approved by the Board of Education for these schools.
The phase two master plan includes:
- Rebuilding Hastings Middle School on the site of its current athletic field
- Renovating the original 1923 three-story portion of Jones Middle School for school office space while building new learning spaces around it
- Rebuilding Burbank Early Childhood with additional classrooms to meet community demands
- Installing synthetic turf athletic fields at both middle schools
- Funding spaces to temporarily house Jones Middle School students during construction, including modular units outside Tremont Elementary School and a third-story addition on the north end of the high school — space that can be used for future needs
After engaging the community through an extensive master planning process and extending the timing of an operating levy by an additional year, the Board of Education will return to voters on the November 3, 2026 ballot with a combined operating levy and bond issue. The $273.5 million bond issue (an estimated 2.25 mills above current collections) would fund the second phase of the master plan, while the 4.9-mill operating levy would provide funding to maintain the district’s educational programs, services and daily operations. Combined, the measures would result in an estimated increase of approximately $1,250 per year (or $105 per month) for a home valued at $500,000, according to the Franklin County Auditor.
As has been shared throughout the process, there is no zero-cost option. Although these aging buildings have been well-maintained over the years, they now have significant needs that will have to be addressed in the immediate future. The community-developed master plan would address both the physical and educational needs of these three facilities to meet the needs of students for decades to come
Your voice has mattered even more in phase two! The district’s goal has been to create a transparent process where all voices are heard and to work together as a community to explore options for these schools and identify a fiscally responsible and forward-thinking plan that meets the needs of the students of Upper Arlington Schools and the community.