RV junior high looking forward to elementary building joining school campus
Visitors have to buzz into River View Junior High, but the camera by the door doesn’t always give office staff a clear picture of who is outside. Josie Sellers | Beacon
WARSAW – River View’s elementary schools combining into one attached to the junior high is an idea the staff there is ready to embrace.
“Our four elementary buildings being so far apart is an obstacle for elementary planning teams,” said Jerry Olinger, principal at the junior high. “We see four different ways of approaching problems when the kids get to us. They do things the best they know how, but if we have them all in one building they will all be on the same playing field and all have the same opportunities. They will be prepared for junior high even better than they are now and they already do a good job.”
River View Local School District is working on a building project that will include constructing one new elementary school attached to the junior high and making renovations to the junior high and high school. The project will be partially funded by a bond issue that will be voted on by the community during a special election on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
The district’s elementary schools are all more than 100 years old, the high school recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and the junior high is the newest building at 36 years old. It doesn’t have the structural problems that the older buildings do, but there are safety issues that concern the staff.
“When we buzz people in they aren’t right in the office,” said Leslie Nelson, secretary at the junior high.
Correcting this problem is at the top of the renovation list.
“We want to know who is in the building, where they are at and have the ability to control that,” Olinger said.
He also would like to see the school’s heating and cooling system and sprinkler system updated.
“We are fortunate that our building just has wear and tear,” Olinger said. “It’s been really well taken care of and doesn’t need a major overhaul.”
While he is looking forward to his building getting a few updates, he also is excited for the district’s elementary students.
“We are going to be able to more efficiently educate kids and pull resources together,” Olinger said. “By having people like speech teachers, the head of the gifted program and music teachers all together we can all reap the benefits of that.”
Having the schools all on one campus also will make it easier to help students who are ready for more advanced classes.
“It’s a big hurdle when we have a sixth grader who needs to be in a seventh or even eighth grade class like math or language arts,” Olinger said. “Logistics sometimes make it almost impossible to get them where they need to be. When they are all right here it will be so much easier to share.”
Nelson thinks this plan will help the elementary students when it comes time to adjusting to junior high.
“There is a lot of stress when you move from elementary to junior high, but they will be here and know what to expect,” she said.
Editor’s note: This is the fifth story in a series of stories highlighting the school buildings in River View’s district.
A look at River View Junior High
Year opened: 1980
Additions: None
Current enrollment: 324
River View Local School Building Project
Problem: The current buildings have served the district well for a century, but they have become too outdated, inefficient and expensive to operate.
Solution: Close all four existing elementary buildings and place them in one new building that will attach to the existing junior high school. The junior high school and high school also will be renovated to today’s codes and the Ohio School Facilities Commission standards. Nineteen percent of the project will be paid for by the Ohio School Facilities Commission and the rest will be funded through a bond issue that will be voted on during a special election on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
Cost of the solution: The state’s share is $9,020,226 and the local share is $43,456,780. The bond to be voted on is 5.20 mils. The cost to the owner of a home valued at $102,500 is: $186.57 annually; $15.55 monthly; $3.59 weekly; and $0.51 daily.
Category: Education
