Master Planning: Primary Schools

UPDATE: Community Partnership Results in Adjusted Plan and Timeline

After the bond levy passed on November 5, Friendship United Methodist Church (FUMC) reached out to offer a portion of their facility for use as temporary classrooms during the construction phase of the Wyoming Primary Schools (WPS) Facilities Project. After meeting with the congregation and neighbors of the church and the City of Wyoming, and conducting studies to evaluate and determine safe and efficient operation on and around the site, the plan for temporary instructional spaces has been adjusted.

Thanks to FUMC, it’s congregation and neighbors, and the City of Wyoming, Wyoming City Schools will be able to:

Provide our primary students with improved temporary spaces for learning during the construction phase of our WPS Facilities Project.
Adjust and shorten the overall timeline for the WPS Facilities Project.
Shift a portion of the budget from temporary schools toward greater investment in our new primary schools.
Avoid displacing the high school softball team during construction.

This community partnership has moved the anticipated date for completion of construction from January 2029 to June 2028.

TEMPORARY INSTRUCTIONAL SPACE TIMELINE

August 2025-December 2026: Hilltop School classes at FUMC
2026-2027 School Year: Elm School classes in modular classrooms behind Wyoming Middle School
January 2027-May 2028: Vermont School classes at FUMC

THE DESIGN PROCESS

The first Design Workshop for the new Wyoming Primary Schools project took place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in the Hilltop School Gym. This Workshop Series has been developed to engage the Wyoming Community in the design of our new K-4 primary schools! The goal is to design each school so that it reflects the identity, values, and needs of the immediately surrounding neighborhood, while aligning with district priorities and exhibiting the unity of the Wyoming Community as a whole.

A total of nine workshops are planned at this time with three sessions held at each school. While all meetings are open to the public, each workshop will focus on the specific school where it is held. Design schedules are staggered to allow for the same 4-month engagement process to occur for each project.

DESIGN WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

HILLTOP SCHOOL:

Workshop 1 - Listening Session: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6
Workshop 2 - Design Input: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 13
Workshop 3 - Final Design Refinement: August 2025

ELM SCHOOL:

Workshop 4 - Listening Session: August 2025
Workshop 5 - Design Input: October 2025
Workshop 6 - Final Design Refinement: December 2025

VERMONT SCHOOL:

Workshop 7 - Listening Session: November 2025
Workshop 8 - Design Input: January 2026
Workshop 9 - Final Design Refinement: March 2026

WORKSHOP STRUCTURE

Listening Session: Gather Community Input Before Beginning the Design Options
Design Input: Present & Receive Feedback on Preliminary Design Concepts
Final Design Refinement: Review & Refine the Near-Final Design

WORKSHOP 1: LISTENING SESSION FORMAT

Large Group Presentation: Overview of Wyoming Primary Facilities Master Plan and Site-Specific Constraints
Small Group Breakout Session: Community Identity, Design Values & Site Access

BOND LEVY PASSAGE

The Wyoming Primary School Bond Issue passed with 69% of the vote, according to the unofficial vote count for the November 5, 2024 election. Thank you, Wyoming! We look forward to working together to build wonderful primary schools for our youngest learners!

The 7.98 mill bond issue will raise $72.5 million for the new construction of three new K-4 primary schools on the sites of the current primary schools. A 7.98 mill levy would normally increase taxes by $279.21 annually for each $100,000 of market home value.

However, through the district’s strong fiscal stewardship, the current Wyoming High School bond levy is being paid off three years early, decreasing taxes by $117.60 annually for each $100,000 of market home value at the end of 2024 and removing 3.36 mills from the community’s residential taxes.
The overall net impact on taxes of the bond levy is an increase of $161.61 annually for each $100,000 of market value (4.62 mills). For example: If your home is valued at $400,000 on the Hamilton County Auditor’s Website, passage of the bond issue adds $646.68 annually to your tax bill, or $53.90 per month.

MASTER PLAN

MASTER PLANNING PROCESS

Engagement Opportunities

During the 2023-2024 school year:

September 6, 2023: CommUNITY Conversations: Listening Sessions

Watch the CommUNITY Conversations video.

October 30, 2023: Community Forum 1: Preliminary Options - 6:30 p.m. at Wyoming High School

Watch the Community Forum #1 video.

November 2023 Online Feedback: Participants were asked to:

Click this link to: Watch the Community Forum #1 Video.

Click this link to: Get More Familiar with the Conceptual Options being considered.

Click this link to: Complete the Online Feedback Form. (This feedback form closed on Wednesday, Nov. 29.)

Click here to see Fall 2023 WPS Facilities Planning Feedback.

March 4, 2024: Community Forum 2: Refined Options - 6:30 p.m. at Wyoming High School

Watch the Community Forum #2 Video.

View the Community Forum #2 Slide Deck.

Click here to see answers to the WPS Master Planning FAQs

March 2024: Public Opinion Survey conducted by Fallon Research & Communications, Inc.

Watch the 2024 Public Opinion Research Survey Results Video: Presented to the Wyoming Board of Education on Thursday, April 11.

View the 2024 Public Opinion Research Survey Results Presentation slides.

May 2024: Community Forum 3: Final Option Developed

Watch the 2024 Community Forum #3 Video.

View the Community Forum #3 Slide Deck.

September 2024: Community Forum 4: Master Plan and Bond Levy

Watch the 2024 Community Forum #4 Video.

View the Community Forum #4 Slide Deck.

Steering Committee

The Wyoming Primary Schools Facilities Steering Committee was formed in September 2023. Made up of 38 representatives of the Wyoming community, this committee is tasked with:

Identifying factors to be considered in the development of primary school facilities
Developing primary facilities options that support the prioritized factors
Reviewing and revising the timeline for primary facilities work
Creating a facilities communication structure that increases awareness and the ability of the community to participate
Seeking community feedback on options to understand the community's perspective for the future of our primary facilities

Committee Members
Work of the Committee

Committee Members

Board Vice President Kara Broderick	Superintendent Tim Weber
Board Member Heather Yee	Treasurer Ronda Johnson
Architect Mike Ruestchle	WPS Principal Gina Kirchner
	Director of Communications Suzy Henke

Teachers
David Ambrose	Jen Gerstner	Anne Woodson
Brooke Becker	Chrissy Robbins	Sandy Zuefle
Jen Dobson	Marta Stewart

Community Members
Roger Barbe	Mary Gaffey	Amy Mayer
Luan Blancher	Amy Getgey	Aaron Meis
Robin Brandon	Katherine Gibson	Meghan O'Malley
Cori Cassidy	Alex Ihnen	Sarah Patton
Kelly Churchwright	Jonathan Joseph	Sarah Potts
Lisa Duke	Ellen Kelly	Julie Roush
Jamie Fairman	Dale Kleinschmidt	Jerry Williams
Greg Franseth	Dean Lutton

Work of the Committee

October 2, 2023 Meeting

The committee:

Discussed the potential budget for the project including how Ohio law, assessed valuation, the special needs consent process, and how pening legislation can impact the budget. More information can be found here.
Discussed the traffic evaluation and findings that due to our small school sites and the limitations of existing roadway configurations, the Kleingers Group traffic analysis determined it would not be advisable to consider any options that significantly increase enrollment at the Elm, Hilltop, or Vermont sites. This results in all options going forward including the use of all three primary school sites.
Explored eight options during the meeting including combinations of new buildings, renovations, and/or additions to the buildings and many of the educational factors/priorities and safety features that were discussed as past of Phase I of the planning process. It was determined that an online tool would be used to gather additional feedback from the committee to determine the options to be presented at the community forum.
Discussed budgeting for swing space (temporary classroom space to be used during construction). Costs are included in budgeting at this point but location and specific details need further exploration.
Discussed the Community Forum on October 30. All community members are encouraged to attend this session in person. After the forum, an informational video will be shared on the district's YouTube channel with on online opportunity for feedback.

October 16, 2023 Meeting

December 11, 2023 Meeting

The committee:

Discussed feedback from the community forum and online feedback tool.
Discussed eliminating options.
Formulated a recommendation to the board to eliminate Option B and the remaining add/reno options.
Shared reservations about Option C1 due to the probably reduction in instructional time for kindergarten due to additional transportation time from Elm and Vermont.

January 11, 2024 Meeting

February 27 & 28, 2024 Meetings

Remote meetings via Zoom took place with committee members chosing between two meeting times. At these meetings, those in attendance:

Reviewed the Removal of Option D1 based on feedback from the prior committee meeting regarding concers about the challenges of all kindergarten students attending Hilltop (transportation, the possibility of a reduced instructional day, etc.).
Discussed Role of Committee Members in Community Forum #2: Committee members attendance was requested and committee members were asked to move to the front of the auditorium at the close of the presentation to be available to answer questions and have conversations with community members in attendance.

April 16, 2024 Meeting

May 7, 2024 Meeting

At this meeting, those in attendance:

Reviewed and Provided Feedback on Swing Space Options
Finalized Plan for Community Forum #3 on May 13: Discussed content of forum. Committee members attendance was requested and committee members were asked to move to the front of the auditorium at the close of the presentation to be available to answer questions and have conversations with community members in attendance as the committee had following Community Forum #2.

June 3, 2024 Meeting

At this meeting, those in attendance:

Reviewed the revised budget information from the State of Ohio (the State of Ohio moved the debt limit from $68.4 million to $73.1 million) and gave feedback on options for next steps regarding this change.
Click here for additional information about the budget adjustment from Primary Facilities Steering Committee Member Dale Kleinschmidt and Wyoming City Schools Treasurer Ronda Johnson.

August 21, 2024 Meeting

At this meeting, those in attendance:

Reviewed and Provided Feedback on Conceptual Drawings
Finalized Plan for Community Forum #4 on September 3: Discussed content of forum. Committee members attendance was requested and committee members were asked to move to the front of the auditorium at the close of the presentation to be available to answer questions and have conversations with community members in attendance as the committee had following Community Forums #2 & 3.

Actions in Summer 2024

June 2024:

At the June 7, 2024 meeting, the Wyoming City Schools Board of Education approved the Wyoming Primary Facilities Master Plan and the first round of resolutions required for a bond issue on the November 5, 2024, ballot.

The Wyoming Primary Facilities Master Plan includes:

Three new K-4 school buildings on each of the current school sites.
Solutions to the limitations of our current buildings as prioritized by the Wyoming Primary Schools Facilities Committee.
Alignment with the community’s preferred direction as identified by statistically-representative survey.

The approval of the resolutions is the required first step to placing a $72.5 million bond issue before voters in November. The ballot issue is estimated to be for 7.98 mills, equaling $279.21 per $100K home value.*

* The community’s actual financial impact is projected to be 4.62 mills or $161.61 annually per $100K of home value. This is due to the proactive work that Wyoming City Schools has done to pay off the 1998 Wyoming High School Bond Issue debt early (reducing the millage paid by Wyoming homeowners by 3.36 mills at the end of 2024).

The $72.5 million project budget was recently adjusted due to revised information from the State of Ohio. On May 30th, the State of Ohio moved the debt limit from $68.4 million to $73.1 million. Click here for additional information about the budget adjustment from Primary Facilities Steering Committee Member Dale Kleinschmidt and Wyoming City Schools Treasurer Ronda Johnson.

July 2024:

Wyoming City Schools Board of Education Places Bond Issue on November Ballot

On July 18, 2024, the Wyoming City Schools Board of Education approved a resolution directing the Hamilton County Board of Elections to place a 7.98 mill, 37 year bond issue on the November 5, 2024 ballot to raise $72.5 million for the new construction of three primary schools.

The school district has been studying and discussing how to address building improvements and the educational needs of our primary students since 2021. These discussions brought forth a series of concepts for consideration centered on updates and improvements for the school facilities and the design of spaces to meet the program needs for students now and in the future.

The Board has actively reached out to residents in their work to define a concept that will meet the educational needs of students and reflects the priorities the community supports. Hundreds of residents have participated in this process. Community meetings and forums have been held and a statistically-representative survey was conducted in March 2024. In data provided by the statistically-representative survey of the community, the Board saw overwhelming support for the construction of three new K-4 schools on the sites of the current primary schools.

“We are excited about the opportunity to replace our more than 65-year-old primary school buildings with new schools that offer additional and expanded instructional spaces, improved safety and accessibility, modern technology, and so much more,” said Board of Education President Jeanie Zoller.

The Wyoming Primary Facilities Master Plan calls for three new K-4 schools:

A new 35,150-square-foot Elm School on the current site with an expanded footprint.
A new 50,000-square-foot Hilltop School on the current site with an expanded footprint.
A new 35,150-square-foot Vermont School on the current site with an expanded footprint.

Components for each new school include secure entry vestibules; improved accessibility; larger classrooms; additional classrooms and space for gifted education, special education, and intervention; spaces for art and music; adequate gym space; and expanded kitchens and student dining areas in each building. The project will incorporate sustainable design and cost effective strategies which could include such things as daylighting; rainwater management; water use reduction; high-performing building systems, construction, and demolition waste management specifying materials with high recycled content; and improved indoor air quality.

It is important to note that the actual design cannot begin until after the outcome of the November 5 election, so these are concepts/ideas of what the district would like to be included in the final design. If the bond issue passes in November, there will be a process in place for stakeholders to provide input into the design elements.

The cost to a homeowner would be $279.21 annually or $0.76 per day for each $100,000 of market home value. The actual financial impact is projected to be $161.61 annually (or $0.44 per day) for each $100,000 of market home value (or 4.62 mills). This is due to the proactive work that Wyoming City Schools has done to pay off the 1998 Wyoming High School Bond Issue debt early (reducing the millage paid by Wyoming homeowners by 3.36 mills at the end of 2024).

Click here to see the work done in previous years to explore options for the future of Wyoming Primary Schools.