At times on Tuesday evening, the 135 people sitting around lunch tables in the Granville High School commons room sounded like a bunch of teenagers talking excitedly about the latest challenge in personal finance class, or how they would get home from school, or what it would be like if they had to attend classes in a different building.
And in a way, the adults in the room were talking about all of those topics and more. The volume rose with each new prompt from Superintendent Jeff Brown designed to help the Granville Exempted Village School District set priorities for managing growth and planning for the future:
Land: What should our priorities be related to land acquisition? Repurposing land the district already owns? Acquiring land through purchase? Acquiring land through development donations? Water and sewer availability? Other?
Transportation: What should our priorities be around transportation? Congestion? Time on buses? Number of buses and staff members? Other?
Building configurations: What should be prioritized in grade and building configurations within Granville Schools? Transitions between buildings? Relocations of grades to different buildings? Logistical constraints? Staffing? Other?
Cost: What should the district’s priority be related to the cost of possible options? Lowest cost? Moderate enhancements? Best-in-class?
In each case, Brown asked the eight to 10 people at each table on Feb. 25 to talk among themselves and come up with a statement to address each question.
What they said
“This is the opportunity to give your input into the process,” he said. “My goal is to talk less and you’re going to talk to your neighbors. What are your hopes and fears? It’s good to talk about those up front.”
Written comments resulting from the table conversations included:
“Utilize land we own and consider buying land, if we can, for future use, making sure that equity and student experience remain a top priority.”
“Strategic land acquisition to ensure a good traffic flow pattern, and water and sewer” access – and “efficiency of bussing.”
“We want to focus on repurposing land the district already owns while prioritizing traffic control and safety. Could one main campus support all?”
“Proximity to the village center” is a priority, with a “central campus location, not isolating certain groups or grades.”
“Water and sewer logistics” are priorities because of the costs.
“Maximize current square footage in facilities.”
“Traffic concerns” are based on site selection, with a priority being to relieve congestion.
“Reducing total bus time and promoting safe routes to school (sidewalks, bike lanes)” are priorities.
“We want to focus on congestion. (No law enforcement?) We also want to structure (bus) routes for development appropriateness, time and safety for buses and overall traffic.”
“Avoid Granville North vs. Granville South.”
“Keep grades together.”
“Spare no expense to give our children the best experiences, but we don’t need a castle or museum.”
“Remain on brand – moderate spending without sacrificing a superior product – evaluating what additions would benefit staff and students.”
Spend money “on academics and buildings, not land.”
The district should be “forward-thinking to save for the future cost and capacity.”
“Be able to afford quality facilities while maintaining excellent teachers.”
“Functional, not fancy.”
“Maintain the level of quality of our education and academics, and we will pay what it takes to maintain it!”
How the planning process began
Brown reminded the school district residents before the brainstorming session that the district is in the planning process at this point, not the building process. The priorities communicated by those at the meeting – and those who could not attend the meeting but who answer the same prompts via an online survey that will be available on the district website – will help the district’s Strategic Planning Task Force develop options for managing anticipated enrollment growth during the next decade or more.
The task force of community volunteers, which for two years has been gathering information that will help inform the planning process, will present options during the next community meeting at 7 p.m. on April 15 at the high school. Brown said consultants from the Fanning Howey firm in Columbus will estimate costs for the options, and residents who attend the April meeting will have the opportunity to offer their opinions about the options.
The current goal, which Brown said is flexible, is to deliver recommendations to the board of education for its consideration and vote by sometime in May.
The groundwork for the planning began soon after Intel announced in 2022 that it would build a $28 billion computer-chip manufacturing campus 12 miles west of Granville – with the expectation that the related development would drive an increased demand for housing in Licking County, and Granville in particular.
This is happening in a big way with a proposal by M/I Homes of Columbus to build as many as 600 homes south of Granville on farmland that had been in Union Township and was annexed to Heath, which allows up to six houses per acre, compared to two per acre in Union and Granville townships – limits established in part to avoid flooding Granville schools with additional students.
Read more: Heath subdivision could add an estimated 960 students to Granville schools
Granville officials have asked and will continue to ask Heath officials and M/I Homes to reduce the density of the proposed development, Brown said, because at the current proposed density, the development could add up to 900 more students and an additional cost of up to $9 million a year for the district – not including the cost of new buildings.
Brown also said district officials continue to talk with state Rep. Thaddeus Claggett, R-Newark, and state Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, for help with state funding, especially given that Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed two-year budget would reduce state funding to Granville by $1 million at the same time the district would begin seeing significant enrollment growth.
District Treasurer Brittany Treolo said the district likely would go on the ballot in the 2026-27 cycle to seek renewal of the district income tax, which expires in 2028 – the same year the district would pay off the bond used to build the intermediate school. And by 2029, she said, current projections show a negative cash balance for the district, which means the district would need to seek additional tax dollars.
Where the district is headed
Brown said the district projects a minimum of 60 new homes a year in the district starting within a couple of years. With each 60 homes, the district of 2,600 students currently anticipates about 100 new students.
Add 100 students to the current number, Brown said, “and we can absorb them into our current facilities.
“You might see larger class sizes in the lower grade levels,” he said, because the elementary and intermediate schools are near their enrollment capacities now.
When the district grows by another 100 students to 2,800, modular classrooms would be needed at some schools to handle the additional students.
“The design process for new facilities takes 12 to 16 months, and the build is another 18 to 24 months, so there’s a runway” to prepare for buildings that will be needed after the first four waves of new students.
By the third wave of 100, taking the district to 2,900 students, additional modular classrooms would be needed. And by the time the district hits 3,000 students, it will need new buildings, Brown said.
Jennifer Fuller, project executive with Fanning Howey, told those at the meeting that her team had evaluated all of Granville’s buildings and found that they are “in really great shape.”
The elementary school on Granger Street is more complicated than the intermediate, middle and high schools because of its many additions over many years going back to the 1950s, she said. The building sits in the center of the village on 11.4 acres and has been a school site since the 1800s. It received additions in 1954, 1957 and 1997, with renovations and alterations in 2002 and 2009.
The middle/high school complex sits on 25 acres on New Burg Street and was built in 1960, with additions in 1991 and 2005.
The intermediate school, currently for grades 4-6, was built in 2001 on 180 acres the district owns between Burg and Loudon streets – 45 acres of which Brown said could be used for new buildings. The rest of the land is dedicated to a popular land lab inspired by Granville students.
Brown noted that the district went through a long period of deferred maintenance, but “over the past eight years, that is when we hit the accelerator” to fix or replace mechanical equipment such as heating boilers and air-conditioning systems.
“We have been utilizing the funds you gave us to maintain facilities,” he said.
Alan Miller writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.