Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

school locations

The site at Sycamore Creek IS going to off-load Pick Elementary and Heritage Elementary. When completed, there will be over 400 homes in Sycamore Creek, plus apartments and condos. This neighborhood could potentially fill the new school on its own. Plus, the kids can walk to school! Fox Glen is right behind Sycamore Creek, Woodstream and Stonebridge are just down the road. There's more than enough established housing right in that locale to populate the school and reduce the burden at Pick and Heritage.

Hill Rd. is 45 mph, but the roads within the subdivision are 25 mph. I don't think this presents a safety issue for kids. Hill Rd. is designated, I believe, a minor artery and therefore the 45 mph fits. Kids won't be walking along Hill Rd. to get to the school.

The other locations, Tollgate and Refugee, is large enough to accommodate at least an elementary and middle school. By putting two schools on the same campus, perhaps there will be economies in building costs and usage (i.e., can the schools share some facilities like maintenance areas, nurse's clinics, etc.?).

Building standards??

Thank you for confirming school locations.

Now since we have or we are very close to the first half of the matching funds from OSFC will both elementary schools be built to the same standard? We are not planning a mini Taj Mahal again on Refugee are we?

I think there are 700 homes in the Villages of Sycamore Creek. 90 or so are in the Canal Winchester school district.

identical school

I understand that both elementaries will be identical. This was made possible by moving the preschool rooms out of one of the elementaries (new housing for the preschool, in one of the planned elementaries, had been proposed in a previous bond issue). Now that the preschool is out (classrooms for preschool will be in one of the existing elementaries, probably Heritage, is my guess), the two planned elementaries can be identical. This should save on design and building costs.

Extra land

I read some time ago that it takes around 17 acres to build an elementary school to state standards. I also read probably the same article that it takes 25 acres or so for a middle school.

Clearly the site at Sycamore Creek is around 15 acres. I suspect close enough for government work. So I am fine with the Sycamore Creek site.

However I also read that the board purchased 60 plus acres for the site atTollgate and Refugeeand where they plan to build the midldle and elemenatry schools. Since there is probably around 20 acres left over what will that extra land be used for?

Also I believe the land at Sycamore Creek was donated by the builder but the school district had to buy the 60 acres at Tollgate. Is that a fair statement?