On January 17, the Milford Board of Education voted to place a 4.7 mill bond issue on the May 2019 ballot. If approved, the bond will build a middle school (grades 6-8) to replace the current Milford Junior High; add a new 1,000 seat auditorium shared by the new middle school and the high school; replace athletic fields displaced by construction and finish the stadium renovation; and complete some renovations at the high school in the unrenovated portions of the building. Cost of the bond is $13.71/month/$100k in assessed home value.
This bond is not part of the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) program where a portion of the qualified building costs are paid by the state. Milford would not be able to participate in that program until late 2020 – at the very earliest. With no timing guarantee, rising construction costs, continued high maintenance costs on old buildings, state restrictions placed on plans, and specific district needs in upcoming years, we do not believe it is cost-effective for our community to continue in this program.
We have not been able to identify any other options for creative funding (like West Clermont and Union Township), and a bond issue is thus our only option.
The new plan provides significant academic benefits for our students as well as addressing other forecasted needs. More details on the plans, benefits, and rationale will be coming soon from the district.
Andrea Brady's Blog 