Principal Jason Merz, however, said they have a plan in place to deal with that, although the plan is changing by the day and will likely see more revisions over the course of the school year.
“We have plenty of people out to make sure everybody gets where they need to be,” he said.
School Board President Mark Butterfield welcomed approximately 100 people to the groundbreaking ceremony and joked that they should ignore the mounds of dirt behind him which had already been moved and think of the ceremony as the start of construction.
“It took a long time to get to this point. There have been a lot of discussions about Kramer, a lot of discussions about how to get it done,” Butterfield said. “We’ve got great teachers and we’ve got great students. Now, we’re going to get a great building.”
He said he was proud of the fact they are building a new school without going to the voters for additional tax money, a fact echoed by several other board members and district treasurer Mike Davis.
“None of this could have happened if we had not taken some creative approaches,” Butterfield said. “No other school in southwestern Ohio has been built with no additional tax money.”
Board vice president Mike Crowder said he remembers a meeting held at the middle school in 2007 after he was elected to the board in which they discussed ways to pursue the facilities master plan after a tax levy proposed to do all of the projects at once had been shot down by voters. He said the board resolved at that time to do the full the plan in pieces and use the state money for that work to build a new Kramer building.
This project completes that part of the plan but the facilities plan will still be unfinished as work is still needed at Marshall and the middle school to complete the work of the school facilities plan approved more than a decade ago.
The Kramer building got moved up when the state of Ohio had money available in the school facilities program because other districts in the state did not qualify for the state reimbursement money because their projects were not yet in place.
Crowder said he recognizes this building project is not the end of the district’s work, but it is a major piece.
“We, as a board, are still committed to the master plan,” Crowder said. “Talawanda Middle School and Marshall are still on our radar.”
Board member Mary Jane Roberts, a former teacher and principal at Kramer, said she looks forward to the opening of the new building.
“I will be the first to run down that hallway,” she said, drawing a laugh from those present. “I spent 18 years here and I am proud to support education.”
Board member Darrell Smith said he is proud of the plan for a new school and looks forward to the opening but is also a bit nostalgic for the current school.
“I attended this school. My kids attended this school,” he said. “I hate to see it go away.”
The regular monthly board meeting followed the groundbreaking ceremony, held in the current building. Butterfield opened the meeting telling the audience it was held there as a convenience so participants were not required to drive to the meeting, but he also added that since it was a warm evening with no air conditioning the building, it was also a reminder of why they are building a new school.
At the meeting, the board heard two brief reports about the project.
Merz presented what he said was the latest version of the school’s traffic flow pattern for the beginning and end of the school day, saying he had made revisions since that morning’s first day of school.
Merz praised the cooperation of the city of Oxford in painting curbs yellow on both sides of Sycamore Street adjacent to the school. This will allow parents to drop off students but no other vehicles besides buses will be permitted on the grounds during drop-off and pick-up times. Staff members will be stationed at various locations to insure the students reach the building safely, Merz said.
The plan, sent to parents, noted that bus riding is the best way for children to reach school because the buses will unload in front of the building, but the principal said eight staff members are being stationed along the street and grounds to help youngsters get into the building safely.
“I had nightmares,” Smith said of the anticipated chaos of the opening of the school day. “I had to come this morning to see it. It was flawless.”
A gravel parking area has been added in front of the school and a gravel driveway around the west side of the building is an access to the rear of the building, where some parking is available. Merz said educational aides can help in that rear area to see that children are held back if a vehicle is moving there. He said they want staff who travel between buildings, however, to park in front to limit vehicle traffic in back.
Ben Posey, of Robertson Construction, gave a brief update, mentioning the dirt that had already been moved.
“We have already moved massive amounts of dirt and for the next four to six weeks, you will see the same thing, then it will start to take shape,” Posey said. “We have a pretty full docket to get through everything, but we’ll get it done.”
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