ATHENS, Ohio — Voters in the Athens City School District approved a $24 million bond issue Tuesday night to build a new Athens High School, according to unofficial results from the Athens County Board of Elections.
The bond issue passed by a vote of 58.17%. The bond will be repaid over 30 years through an annual property tax levy, estimated to average 2.06 mills for each $1 of taxable value — or $72 for each $100,000 of appraised value.
This marks the second time in a decade that the district has asked voters to support a bond issue to make improvements to district infrastructure.
The new high school was initially slated to be completed with funding from a $60.5 million bond issue voters passed in 2018. This year’s $24 million bond issue was needed because of inflation and state requirements, ACSD Supt. Tom Gibbs previously told the Independent.
Gibbs said Tuesday night he is “obviously very excited.”
“The results were even better than what we were hoping for, and this is the last piece of our project,” Gibbs said. “Now we have an opportunity to build a new high school. We haven’t had that opportunity since the 1960s. This is something that’s going to impact public education and the Athens City School District for at least the next 50 to 70 years. It’s really exciting.”
School board member and treasurer Sean Parsons, who also chairs the Athens County Democratic Party, said the bond issue’s passage will allow the district “to do great things.”
“Not only build our new high school, but it’s going to give us flexibility to do a lot of green energy projects, and a lot of other things that we would not have been able to do without the support of our community,” Parsons said.
Parsons assured those who opposed the issue that “it’s for the building of a new high school and auxiliary gym. And that’s what the money’s for. It’s really clear and there’s no smoke and mirrors.”
The next step is to secure architects, construction managers and “before it gets even more expensive, just getting on the building project,” Parsons added.
The school will receive $28.6 million from a state match to support construction through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission’s Classroom Facilities Assistance Program.
The local funding will support the school district’s share of the constitution cost. In addition to the portion of the project matched by the state, the levy also funds additional square footage for the high school, an auxiliary gym and other school amenities.
Some voters felt $24 million was too much to ask voters, especially coming on the heels of the 2018 bond issue. The issue failed in Millfield, Chauncey, New Marshfield, Sugar Creek, The Plains and Circle Hill – all among the poorest precincts within the school district.
Alan McMillan, an owner of the rental company Cranberry Row LLC who campaigned against the issue, could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night. Cranberry Row LLC owns 25 properties in Athens County with appraised value totaling over $4.4 million, according to information available through the Athens County Auditor.
Gibbs expressed sympathy for people who voted against the levy, noting the effect of inflation and the recent increase in property appraisals.
“I just appreciate that we had a much higher than expected turnout for an off-year election, that people got out and that their voices were heard, and that ultimately the majority of our community supported [the] school district,” Gibbs said.
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