Xenia schools to ask voters to pass 2 levies in May

XENIA — Two levies will be voted on in May for Xenia Community Schools, including one that, if passed, would fund the construction of a new middle school for the district.

The school board voted unanimously to put a bond levy on the ballot that would generate $36 million to create a new middle school adjacent to the existing Warner Middle School.

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“The incredibly close vote this past November makes the decision to ask the voters to reconsider this straight-forward plan to replace Warner Middle School a relatively simple one,” said Dr. Gabe Lofton, Superintendent of Xenia Community Schools. “The need for a new facility has not gone away, and our students deserve the opportunity to learn and grow in a facility that will meet their needs for years to come.”

The plan would be to build the new school and keep students in the existing Warner Middle School until construction is finished. Warner Middle School would then be demolished.

The second issue would be a renewal of a 1.3 mil Permanent Improvement Levy, which has to be renewed every five years and generates about $450,000 each year for the district. It was last passed in 2016.

“Previous projects funded by permanent improvement dollars include the restoration of Benner Field House, which reopened in November of 2019, and the complete renovation of the Bob Hope Auditorium at Xenia High School, scheduled to open in February 2021,” the district said. “Other recent projects include a district-wide lighting project, as well as extensive parking lot repair and resurfacing.”

Cox Media Group