Take a close look at state offer for new-renovated school facilities

The Bellevue Board of Education, school administration and residents of the school district will be wise to take a long, hard look at the state's offer to pay more than half the cost to build new facilities or renovate current buildings in the district.

State money is already too scarce when it comes to paying for public education, but the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission has had success with school districts across the state in rebuilding facilities, and helping to pay major portions of the cost. Look at the beautiful new school in Attica and the excitement generated by the new and renovated facilities planned for Clyde.

Newer school buildings offer a host of positive benefits, from being more energy efficient to providing an environment more suited to learning.

But it's natural to have a sentimental attachment to the old schools -- York, Lyme, Ellis and Ridge elementaries and the junior high -- but the needs of education are not what they were generations ago when these fine schools first came online. It's just not reasonable to expect theses facility to last forever, or believe their usefulness are undiminished over time.

The Ohio Schools Facilities Committee is one of the bright spots in state government. It has developed expertise in helping school districts plan for the future, and it brings with it the greenbacks to help build for the future.

Bellevue school officials will be meeting with OSFC members over the next several months to fine tune a plan for the future.

The diagram for success that emerges could include building on to Shumaker Elementary or even a complete new building to replace all five elementary buildings. It could include a new junior high facility or middle school option. It could include turning the current high school into a junior high and building a new high school. There could be plans for adding onto the current high school to make it a grade 7-12 facility. Those are all options that will probably be looked at.

The long-term impact of this planning could be to decrease operating expenses while improving the educational opportunities. Think of less maintenance and utility costs, savings in the bussing program and even savings in school staff requirements.

School districts across the region face challenges with aging buildings. It would be foolish for any district not to fully investigate the opportunities and the state funding available for new buildings.