RRCSD to Return $1.1 Million to Bond Fund

In 2010, the Rocky River City School District was successful in passing a bond issue for $42.9 million. The funds were earmarked for renovating and updating ageing facilities and technology. At that time, the State of Ohio had mandated all-day Kindergarten. Goldwood Primary School did not have space for the additional classrooms that would be needed for all-day Kindergarten, so $1.1 million of the bond was set aside to build them. Voters were promised that if the all-day Kindergarten mandate was eliminated, the money would be transferred to the bond retirement fund to pay off that portion of the debt. The State of Ohio did end up eliminating the all-day Kindergarten mandate so at its October 2017 business meeting, the Rocky River Board of Education voted to repay the $1.1 million to the bond retirement fund. This will result in a one-year reduction of property taxes in 2018 for the homeowners in Rocky River of approximately $44 per $100,000 of property value.

Rocky River Board of Education President Jon Fancher said “In transferring the $1.1 million to the bond retirement fund, we are fulfilling the promise made when we asked the voters to pass the bond issue in 2010. We appreciate the support of the community, which enables us to meet two of our Strategic Plan objectives: all students will attend schools that are state-of-the-art facilities and all students will learn in an environment that is technologically competitive on a global level.”