SOUTH POINT – Poor attendance at a public meeting Thursday could mean South Point schoolchildren will miss out on educational opportunities in the future.

Wednesday, May 03, 2000

SOUTH POINT – Poor attendance at a public meeting Thursday could mean South Point schoolchildren will miss out on educational opportunities in the future.

"We’re having the meeting to spark interest and see what kind of interest there is in the levy," said Ken Cook, middle school principal. "I don’t know what kind of turnout we’ll receive. I’m sure the number of people that attend is going to determine whether it’s put back on the ballot. We hope to get a good turnout."

Representatives from TRIAD Architects Inc. will attend the meeting, which will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at South Point High School, to answer any questions area residents may have.

School district officials were told about a year ago that South Point qualified for state building assistance dollars. To receive the $23.4 million in funding to build a new high school and consolidated elementary school, as well as to renovate the current high school into a middle school, the district must pass a property tax levy to supply about $7.1 million in matching funds over about 20 years.

School district voters have since twice turned down the levy to provide those funds.

A community member and former teacher, Eric "Scoot" Smith hopes area residents will vote for new schools and the future generations of South Point children if given the opportunity this time.

If board members decide to have a special election in August, it will be the last chance South Point will get for state funding for many years to come. The Ohio Schools Facilities Commission only gives districts three chances before giving other communities a chance at the dollars.

"I have two kids that go to school here," Smith said. "I didn’t pay for the schools my kids are in – someone else did. I think we should help each other out as much as we can."

Being a former teacher, Smith personally knows the condition of the area schools.

"A lot were inadequate, especially as we continue to grow technology-wise," he said about the classrooms he taught in seven years ago. "Maybe right now we can say we don’t need the new schools at this moment, but there are things happening that will make us need them soon. If we don’t take advantage of this now, we’ll have to pay all of it in another five or eight years. I don’t think anyone would pass a levy for $31 million."

New schools do more than improve the look of a community, Cook said. Better schools improve the educational environment.

"I think with the newer schools, they’re going to be up-to-date and they will be able to provide opportunities for kids with technology," Cook said. "The classrooms also will be larger. When you’re talking about 20 kids in a classroom, it doesn’t create a good learning environment. Kids are on top of kids and you don’t have the space available to do activities. Bigger classrooms give more opportunities for teachers to do things."

And it would not be worth the effort to try to make these state-required improvements in the existing buildings, Cook added.

"The schools definitely need a lot of major renovation," he said. "You can build cheaper than you can renovate. We have small classrooms and they are requiring 900 square feet. There’s no way we could come up with that here. When talking about our technology being the future, there’s no way our buildings would be conducive to that. There are a lot of renovations needed to bring the buildings up to what the state wants you to have."

To make these new schools a reality, the South Point School District needs the community’s help, said Paul Copley, who co-chaired the committee for better schools before the March election.

"I hope that we can get some more people involved out of the community and get them educated about what a good opportunity South Point has right now," Copley said. "If we can get the people out so they can appreciate the money available to us, the bond levy would pass. I’m very positive about that."

Getting the information to people takes time and a lot of hard work and dedication from people who care about their community, though, Copley added.

And more people than ever will be needed if South Point decides to go to the polls one last time, he said.

"Personally, the only thing I can see that we can do different is go to each subdivision and get leaders who will make sure we don’t miss anybody," Copley said. "Evidently we’ve overlooked some people so we need to talk to them again. I feel the approach of reaching people individually could bring more on board."