Lake committee preps for construction of new school

By: 
Larry Limpf

The committee that was assembled to make the preparations for placing a 6-mill bond issue on the ballot in the Lake School District will be meeting to prepare for the construction phase of a new elementary school building, Jim Witt, district superintendent, said last week.
By a 55-vote margin, 1,126 for to 1,071 against, voters in the Lake district Tuesday approved the bond issue that will raise $36 million over 37 years to finance the construction. The Wood County Board of Elections hasn’t yet certified results of the election.
“We will be contacting our bond attorney and see where we go from here in terms of financing and the construction process,” Witt said. “We have a school board meeting in two weeks and we should have a better idea of a rough construction timeline by the end of this month.”
Monica Leppelmeier, district treasurer, has estimated the school system could save more than $20 million over the life of the bond if interest rates stay at their current levels.
In the school district’s precincts with the largest number of registered voters, the issue was rejected in three precincts and won in four.
Voters in Precinct 370 (Lake Twp. East) turned it down by 28 votes; 187 against to 159 for. In Precinct 371 (Lake Twp. North), it passed by 28 votes; 166 for to 138 against. It also lost in Precinct 390 (Lake Twp. Latcha); 198 against to 181 for; and in Precinct 420 ((Lake Twp. Union); 176 against to 151 for.
It passed in Precinct 400 (Lake Twp. Millbury) and precincts 430 and 432 (Lake Twp. Walbridge A and B).
In the outlying precincts, it lost by three votes in Precinct 653 (Perrysburg Twp. Starbright) and in Precinct 900 (Troy Twp. North) it lost by six votes.
There are 8,015 registered voters in the district, according to the board of elections.
“Some of our veterans of all of these elections were a little surprised by the relatively low turnout but I think the percentage of our voters was right in line with what the county numbers were and the area numbers as well,” Witt said. “Overall we’re happy to have the trust from the majority of the voters and now we will go forward. The real work begins now and we will do everything we can to construct a building the community can be proud of.”
The current elementary school was constructed in 1960.
Property owners are currently paying 3.3 mills for the debt remaining on the middle school. That debt is scheduled to be retired by the end of 2024.

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