SOUTH POINT – The third, and final, defeat of a 4.

Tuesday, August 22, 2000

SOUTH POINT – The third, and final, defeat of a 4.99-mill bond levy on Aug. 8 that would have provided the matching funds needed to build new schools for the South Point School District has left many questions for school officials to answer.

The levy would have provided the required matching funds for a $23 million grant the Ohio School Facilities Commission had approved to build new schools in the district.

School officials say now they must figure out how to maintain the schools in an efficient manner and continue providing a quality education for students.

"We always try to run the schools as best as we can," said Terry Black, South Point Board of Education member. "Now, we have to figure out how to maintain (the buildings) we have. We’re not going to give up on providing a quality education."

He said the school board will need to direct its attention to several maintenance projects that will need to be implemented after an assessment of each building in the district is made.

"We will need to make some adjustments in the budget," he said. "We will need to take a look at each building and make it as efficient as possible. The main goal is our kids, so we don’t foresee any cutbacks in staffing or academic programs."

South Point Board of Education member Gary Morrison said the effects of the defeat will not come immediately.

"Even though there are no plans of academic classes or staffing being sacrificed, the impact of the Aug. 8 vote will come later down the road," Morrison said. "It might not be until five or 10 years down the road, but it will come. We’re going to do fine for right now, but the long-term effect concerns us because it will eventually catch up with us."

He said the board is planning to search for additional ways to receive funding for various school projects that would be needed in the future.

"We have to start preparing for what may come in the future," Morrison said. "Right now, we have to buckle down and do the best we can with what we’ve got. We will continue to explore any options that may come our way. We’re going to be operating on a really tight budget because of various maintenance issues, but we will make due with what we have. I’m personally not going to give up on giving the kids of this district what they deserve."