BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      Meeting last week, the Boardman Board of Education formally received a report from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), suggesting upwards of $130 million in capital improvements to local school buildings.
      Most of those costs, if they were ever to be implemented, upwards of 85 per cent to 90 per cent, would have to be borne by the taxpayers.
      Among the $130 million, the OFCC suggested more than $29 million in improvements to Center Middle School. According to the OFCC report, more than $4 million of the total costs of improvements at Center would go towards ‘non-construction costs’ like compensation for design professionals, soil borings and builder’s risk insurance.
      The OFCC assessment of Center Middle School is less than flattering.
      The assessment claims that classrooms are undersized and do not conform to current state standards. “The ventilation system is inadequate to meet the needs of users,” the OSFC says in its assessment of Center Middle School, adding the school has a “limited security system and a non-compliant fire alarm system.”
      The OFCC says that Center Middle School is not in compliance with standards established by the Americans with Disabilities Act and compliance with the ADA would be difficult to achieve.
      687 students currently attend Center Middle, in a building that has a capacity for 1,125 students, according to the OFCC assessment.
      The OFCC assessment of Center claims that 21-acres site “is adjacent to commercial development uses which are not suitable for educational instruction.”
      Among the more than $29 million needed to upgrade Center Middle School to ‘current standards,” as opined by the OFCC in it assessment are the following:
       •The roofs over the entire building require replacement.
       •The building does not meet energy conservation guidelines.
      •The building is reported to contain asbestos and other hazardous materials.
       •Classrooms have an inadequate number of electrical outlets and data jacks for technology applications,.
       •Drinking fountains, though properly maintained, are not adequate in number and placement.
       •Outdoor light fixtures are provided inadequately.
       •Vehicular traffic flows are unsafe.
       •The average classroom size is 737 sq-ft and should be 900 sq-ft.
       •The school gymnasium is located near academic learning areas and the OFCC assessment says “that can be distracting.”
       •The teachers’ lounge provides limited workspace for the preparation of teacher materials.
       •The student dining area is too big and the cafeteria kitchen is too small.
       •The school is not equipped with central air conditioning.
       •Classroom furniture is mismatched and in fair to poor condition.
      According to a variety of school officials, State Sen. Joe Schiavoni has proposed legislation designed to ease the burden on taxpayers should be Boardman Local School Board ever consider replacing Center Middle School.
      Under an Exceptional Needs program, Sen. Schiavoni’s bill will provide 45 per cent of state funding needed to replace Center Middle.
      Under that bill, the taxpayers would still have to foot more than $16 million of the recommended improvements to Center Middle.
      The school board has tentatively set a work session in January to consider the findings of the entire 600-page OFCC report on Boardman Local Schools, that called for 4130 million in improvements.