NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — The North Ridgeville City School District is trying for the fourth time in four years to get a ballot measure passed to build a new high school.
“Our high school has been overcrowded since I graduated from it 43 years ago,” says longtime North Ridgeville resident Frank Toth.
Toth also serves the community as a councilman and says he's a supporter of Issue 16.
“It is a good problem for this community to experience this type of growth where we constantly have families moving into this area because of the performance of the schools," says Toth.
If passed, the ballot measure will provide more than $143 Million for the construction of a new high school, an attached auditorium, and transportation center.
“Now is the time to make the investment in your future,” Toth says.
North Ridgeville High School was built to accommodate 900 students, currently there are over 1400 enrolled. The district added mobile units that accommodate 200. Students have to walk outside to access the added classrooms.
“It makes you feel bad,” says Ralph Tatulinski of the overcrowding at the high school.
Tatulinski and his wife Margaret moved to North Ridgeville two years ago seeking to live in a less congested community with lower costs. The couple says they’ve always voted for school levies and bond issues, but this time they’re voting no.
“We're on a fixed income and the increase is quite a bit,” says Margaret Tatulinski.
According to the district, the approval of Issue 16 would add $219 per year for every $100,000 of the County Auditor’s appraised total market value.
“It's a matter of how much money you have to put out and what you don't have, so it's a little steep,” Ralph Tatulinski adds.
The district put a similar measure on the ballot last May, which included building a new elementary school and new high school. That measure failed by just 23 votes.
“Heartbreaking doesn’t even really describe it,” says Toth. “It was saddening, but I give a lot of credit to the district to be able to recoup from that and to be able to present this opportunity to the electorate.”
The district says they will continue to place this issue on the ballot until the overcrowding issues are addressed.
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