COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Just over $450 million for nine new Ohio K-12 building projects was announced Thursday by the state commission that oversees funding of school construction, the first major spending package for school construction and renovation since the coronavirus pandemic.
The projects announced by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission include $117 million for Cleveland city schools, which will use the money to build two new pre-K through eighth grade buildings and a new high school, and to renovate a middle school. The Cleveland project includes $37.5 million in local funding.
The money also will provide $103.2 million for Lancaster city schools in southeastern Ohio, including $56.8 million in local funding, to build a new high school that will also house a career tech program.
Spending approved Thursday also includes $29 million for Metro Early College High School in Columbus, a K-12 STEM school that will move into a renovated Columbus middle school.
The school construction program dates back more than 20 years and was created as part of state efforts to comply with court orders that had declared school funding in Ohio unconstitutional.
