Big renovations to come to Ludlow Schools, new Ky. law expedites school construction - WKRC TV Cincinnati
LUDLOW, Ky. (WKRC) - If you walk through Ludlow Independent Schools, you’ll come across all of its history.
The district has been around since the early 1900s, and soon, it’ll be revitalized.
“We have a chance now, based on the support we received from the legislators and our board, to create that environment, and it'll be second to none in any district,” said superintendent Mike Borchers. “Our goal is to go in and modernize our entire district so that our students K-12 will be in a brand new facility.”
The district will soon undergo a $31 million dollar renovation project.
“This is generational changing for us. Our community has done a great job with an almost 100-year-old building,” Borchers said. “We have facilities that are smaller than what the modular design is. We have some classrooms that only have a couple electrical outlets due to the design of the building. We're going to be able to open that up and create everything brand new.”
High school classrooms will be redesigned, along with the cafeteria and auditorium.
The district also plans to add collaborative spaces, new science labs, art wings, STEM spaces, and every room will be modernized with state-of-the-art technology.
“Tiny little districts like this, they work hard and they use every penny that they have to make their schools great, but because of their small size, they need some help,” said State Rep. Kim Banta. “It is this diamond on the river, and I just want to see it flourish.”
Banta helped secure about $23 million from the state for this renovation. The other $8 million will come from district facility funds.
A new Kentucky law will help the district maximize the funds, and allow it to build faster.
“One of the big things I heard from superintendents last interim was that we are having major problems with the Kentucky Department of Education trying to get waivers through so we can do construction in a timely way,” State Rep. Ed Massey said.
Massey sponsored House Bill 678, which allows districts to build without having to wait for a waiver.
“Part of the problem with the rising cost of materials is by the time the approval was made, the cost was far beyond what they anticipated, and they weren't budgeted or weren't bonded for those projects,” Massey said. “It will save the state million upon millions of dollars. There's one district that had bonded a middle school, and by the time they got their waiver back from the state department, essentially, it was more cost then they could bond and so they couldn't build the school, and so obviously, the losers in those scenarios are the students.”
The law is in effect now.
“So, what happens essentially, you still have to work with your architect, you still have to meet the building codes and specifications locally, but you don't have to wait for the Kentucky Department of Education to approve every single thing you do. That's what was happening in the past. It was almost micromanagement to an extreme,” Massey said.
So now, Ludlow has the green light to build, and soon, Borcher says, “We will create a school that will reflect the community of Ludlow for now and for years to come."
Borchers says this will be a five-phase project.
He is hoping to have all renovations compete by the summer of 2024.
source: https://local12.com/news/local/big-renovations-to-come-to-ludlow-schools-new-ky-law-expedites-school-construction-independent-renovation-building-facilities-students-staff-architect-technology-district-funds-permit-kentucky-cincinnati-ohio
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.