It is no secret that the number of families residing in Dublin is growing. Nor is it a secret that one reason for that growth is the reputation of the Dublin City School District.
Cassie Dietrich, public information officer for the district, says some of the elements that draw families to the schools are the diversity and the faculty’s emphasis on learning for all students.
“Kids get a lot of life experience in the Dublin City School District that they might not get elsewhere,” Dietrich says. “Our student body has students from more than 100 countries and they speak more than 70 different languages. We know from research that people love our staff, that our teachers do a fantastic job educating kids and students are first always.”
Furthering efforts to help every student, the district has introduced extensive literacy programs during the 2022-2023 school year, including the 95 Core Phonics Program and an emphasis on early intervention to better recognize dyslexia and other literacy challenges.
“Literacy is the foundation of everything that kids do,” Dietrich says. “So it’s very important that kids are literate and have the tools that they need to learn those basic reading and writing skills, as that is what forms the ability to do all the other subject areas that we teach.”
To account for population growth and housing developments in the northwest area of the city, Dublin Jerome High School added two new wings ahead of the 2023-2024 school year.
In fall 2020, a new building opened that houses Abraham Depp Elementary and Eversole Run Middle. Even with the addition of Abraham Depp, schools in the northwest area are crowded and the district brought modular classrooms to the school.
Hopewell Elementary also opened in 2020 to aid with the expansion of the southeast area of the city.
All of these construction projects were made possible due to the approval of a bond and levy in 2018.
The issue and permanent improvement levy also supported renovations to one of the district’s oldest buildings, Dublin Coffman High School.
Both Coffman and Dublin Scioto high schools will have updated athletic facilities including baseball/softball batting facilities. Scioto also saw updates to its press box, weight room and Kindness Cafe, when all projects are completed.
To acquire funds for growing and maintaining the nationally ranked facilities and programs the schools offer, the district is seeking support on a bond and levy, both of which resident taxpayers will vote on in November.
If voters support the bond and levy in November, the district will use the funds in part to continue expanding its facilities to meet the growing student population, especially at the elementary school level. The district hopes to add a new building to help alleviate capacity issues at Abraham Depp.
The district also hopes to expand its preschool building, as it is in need of additional space. Construction costs have increased by over 80% since 2018-2019, which has created challenges for the school district as it expands.
“We have a responsibility to educate every student that lives in the Dublin City School District boundaries,” Dietrich says. “While growth does change the way our classrooms look as more students move in, we continue to do everything we can with the resources we are provided to give students the experience they deserve.”
The proposed legislation is a 7.9 mill operating levy with an additional no-new-millage $145 million bond issue.
If passed, the levy will raise taxes by $276.50 per $100,000 of property value before any upcoming reappraisals.
These funds will be put back into the community through several projects including school building improvements, sports facilities/field improvements, expansions to support the growing student body, upgraded playgrounds to promote safety and engagement and replacement of old ventilation systems and fire alarms. These funds will also help support extracurriculars and career programs.
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an assistant editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mfitzmaurice@cityscenemediagroup.com.
