Case Study | Princeton City Schools

Superintendent of the Princeton City Schools in Cincinnati, Ohio | 2008-2014

PROJECT PROFILE | HIGH SCHOOL + MIDDLE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

  • Size : 550,000 sq. ft.

  • Budget : $135 Million

  • Time to Complete: 3yr  - 2011-2014

  • Awards & Certifications: Silver LEED, Learning by Design Magazine 2016 - Best Project Award, HVAC Chilled Beam Engineering Award, Safe School Project Award by the Ohio Dept. of Education

  • Notable Features : Shared facilities including cafeteria, aquatic center, practice and main basketball courts, library, and 1,000 seat performing arts center, and emergency power generation for 70% of the 550,000 sq. ft. facility. 

  • Athletic Facilities: Complete upgrade to football and track, additional soccer complexes, two regulation baseball fields, aquatic center with competition pool, and ten individual tennis courts.

Dr. Pack arrived in the Princeton School District in the summer of 2008. The school board had just lost a bond levy to build a new high school and middle school in May of 2008.  Dr. Pack worked closely with his school board to build community relationships, conduct a needs assessment of the new schools proposal and contract for a community survey to assess support for a bond levy.  Throughout the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years, the school board and Dr. Pack developed a precise plan of action to address concerns in the community,  refine the  estimate of cost for the new facilities, and incorporated suggestions for changes provided by the community. In May 2010 the school board passed a $120 million bond levy with a 60 percent passage rate in one  of the most difficult economic times in the history of the United States.

The school district board of education knew, along with the new schools, there would be a need for operational dollars due to the school district losing millions of dollars in tangible personal property taxes in  the state of Ohio. During the 2010-2011 school year, the district cut their operational budget nearly $10 million and eliminated nearly 80 positions from the district.  The board trimmed cost in all areas of operations including a salary freeze for three years, less benefits and reduced supplementals  for  faculty and staff.  As painful as these cost reductions were, they were necessary to establish trust  and need with the voters of the district. During the 2011-2012 school year the school board, community advocates and Dr. Pack ran an intensive levy campaign to increase property tax 6.5 mills to provide the necessary instructional and operational support to support the school district over the next five years.  

The levy passed with a 60 percent passage rate and students, teachers and community are enjoying beautiful facilities and enhanced programs to support student success today.  If your school district, town, village or municipality is involved in conversations around a possible construction or operation levy, contact Pack & Associates today to learn how this organization can support your efforts.

The Bottom Line: 

This project was on budget and used self-insured workman’s compensation, zero budgeting, advanced bidding, and multiple contracts to ensure an on-time, on-budget final result.

Community Survey on Construction

How would you generally rate the job that the School District has done managing these projects? Conducted by Fallon Research

Results: 64% Net Positive Rating

Learning by Design Magazine Feature (below)