Levy's defeat forces Canfield school officials to rethink course

CANFIELD – The city’s Board of Education plans to regroup next week to determine next steps after a bond issue for a new high school failed for the third time Tuesday.

The 3.7 mill levy failed by a margin of 55% to 45%, according to unofficial results from the Mahoning County Board of Elections. It would have built a new high school, demolished the current one and made improvements to three other district buildings.

“While we are disappointed with the outcome, we respect our community’s decision,” said Joe Knoll, district superintendent of Canfield Local Schools. “The needs of our facilities remain a priority for our district, and we will continue to explore solutions that meet the expectations and financial responsibilities of our community.”

The bond would have provided $64.19 million to build a new Canfield Village Middle School and complete renovations of Canfield High School, CH Campbell and Hilltop Elementary Schools.

“As much as we were very optimistic about this turn of events, we are disappointed that the outcome was not what we as a school board expected or desired,” said board chairman Nader Atway. “We cannot thank the Committee to Support Canfield Schools, led by Rachel Muser, enough for all they did to advocate and educate the community about the plan we presented.”

As the board prepares to discuss the next step, they will also have to consider some of the repairs and renovations still in the pipeline.

“CVMS faces significant challenges in meeting the demands of a modern educational environment. Infrastructure such as HVAC systems, lighting and space utilization do not meet current requirements, while rising maintenance costs make a complete replacement more financially feasible in the long term,” Knoll said in a press release on Wednesday. “Similarly, renovations to the district’s other schools are necessary to address infrastructure needs and support effective and inclusive learning spaces.”

Some needs were addressed over the summer, including the secure vestibules of the CH Campbell and Hilltop base buildings. Air conditioning was added to CH Campbell and the high school saw repairs and improvements to the roof and parking lot. These improvements were handled with approximately $2 million from a reallocation of operational and permanent improvement funds. These projects are not included in the bond levy amount.

“In terms of next steps, we will need to come back together as a board and evaluate our options moving forward,” Atway said. “Our next meeting is on November 13 and we will have preliminary discussions about next steps at that time.”

The meeting will take place in the Canfield High School auditorium at 6 p.m. Anyone who wants to speak during that meeting must register at the table at the entrance of the room.