Reynoldsburg middle school to close after this school year

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Reynoldsburg middle school will close at the end of the current school year due to repairs the district cannot pay for.

The Reynoldsburg City School Board voted Tuesday night to close Hannah J. Ashton Middle School, citing the cost of needed repairs -- estimated at $18 million. The district said if those repairs were made, it would buy the school another seven years. Short-term repairs would cost the district $3 million.

"There is currently no additional funding available to either repair or replace the building," the district posted to its website.

An $85 million bond issue that would have paid for repairs to Hannah J. Ashton and other Reynoldsburg schools was rejected by voters in November 2021.

The district said the building needs repairs to leaks in the roof and plumbing problems and to address issues with the outside of the building. A structural engineer determined the building is safe, but there are areas of the building that are not usable without the repairs, the district said.

Students entering the fifth grade next year will be sent to the district's other elementary schools, while grades sixth through eighth will move to STEM Middle at Baldwin Road and Waggoner Road Junior High.

The board's decision to close the school at the end of the school year was one of four options the board considered. The other options were keeping the school open at 100% capacity for the 2023-24 school year; keeping the school open at 50% capacity for the 2023-24 school year; or closing the school over a two-year period.

There are currently 450 students in grades fifth to eighth at the school.

Parts of the school date back to 1868, with additions made to the building in 1925, 1954, 1964, and 2005.