Berea Education Board Backs School Reconstruction Plan

The Berea Board of Education has approved a $112 million construction plan to reshape the Berea City Schools District.

The board voted on the plan brought forth by Superintendent Mike Sheppard on Monday night, reported Cleveland.com.

Sheppard had discussed the plan at city council meetings in Middleburg Heights and Berea earlier in March.

Here's what the plan calls for:

• The closure of Brookview and Brook Park Elementary Schools for the construction of a $75 million high school in time for the 2020-21 school year.
• The $25 million renovation of Big Creek Elementary School, Ford Intermediate School and Middleburg Heights Junior High School, including doors, windows, rooftops, asphalting and HVAC system repairs.
• The moving of Brook Park Elementary School students to Ford Intermediate School.
• The moving of Ford Intermediate School students to Middleburg Heights Junior High, which would change from 7th through 9th to 5th through 8th; 9th grades would move to the 10th through 12 Berea-Midpark High School.

Other than allotting resources for school fixes, the plan would change which schools students enroll in.

Brook Park Elementary School students would go to Ford Intermediate School. Ford Intermediate School students would attend Middleburg Heights Junior High, which would change from 7th through 9th to 5th through 8th. Ninth graders would head to the 10th to 12th Berea-Midpark High School.

To accommodate the different grade levels, the Middleburg Heights Junior School would be altered to split the 5th and 6th graders from the 7th and 8th graders.

The new high school is planned to open by the 2020-21 school year.

But even though the Board has approved the plan, it still may not come to fruition. The plan is contingent on a bond issue worth at least $3.8 million bond to be voted on in November. The board is likely to submit the bond issue in April, reported cleveland.com.

The reconstruction plan would address the floundering enrollment rates, expensive renovations and the need to balance an $80 million budget, said Superintendent Sheppard.

Enrollment at Berea City District schools has decreased from 7,509 in 2004 to 6,423 in 2015, according to census data. The district projects the enrollment to decrease to 5,798 by 2020.

According to Berea School’s Treasurer Ryan Ghizzoni, the school closures would save the district $1.3 million, keeping the budget balanced.