Edison, Perkins levies voted down

ERIE COUNTY – Voters living in the Edison Local School District and the Perkins Local School District voted down bond levies for new or renovated school buildings during Tuesday’s special election.

In the Edison Local School District, a $46.715 million bond was voted down 82.24% to 17.76%. The bond would have funded the construction of a new preschool to 5th grade building in Berlin Helighs and the renovation of Edison High School to add 6th to 8th grades.

The new and renovated buildings would have replaced the district’s over-century old buildings. The current elementary school in Milan was built in 1922, and the middle school in Berlin Heights was built in 1890, though multiple additions have been made. The district’s newest building is the high school, which was built in 1971.

The location of the new elementary school in Berlin Heights caused controversy among many Milan voters.

When the plan was approved by the Edison Local Schools Board of Education in April 2022, one Edison parent wrote on Facebook, “Our school district has a once in a lifetime chance to centralize the location of the schools within our district and make the overall experience for parents and children in the district more pleasant. However, yet again, our school board members have demonstrated that their concern for parents and children of the community are the least of their concern.”

In response to the bond issue failing, Superintendent Cory Reem acknowledged in a statement to Huron Insider that “the community overwhelmingly rejected the current proposal.”

“Unfortunately, with two of the three buildings in the district over 100 years old, the need for new schools is not going to go away,” Reem added. “As the District moves forward, it will have to be very strategic in both the timing and configuration of any future ballot issues.”

Over in the Perkins Local School District, a $76 million was voted down 61.61% to 38.39%. The bond would have funded the construction of a new combined middle and high school building along Strub Road. Under the proposed plan, elementary students would have moved into the current Perkins High School.

“I am very proud of the hard work of the many community members who stepped up to help improve the facilities of Perkins Local Schools,” Superintendent Todd Boggs said in a statement to Huron Insider. “This work dates back to the adoption of Perkins Schools’ Strategic Plan in January 2020, which called for an evaluation of our buildings and grounds. The district commissioned a community-led Facilities Planning Committee during the summer of 2022 that in December recommended the Board of Education ask our local voters for the bond issue.”

“Throughout this process, we have had numerous parents and guardians, business leaders, and community members, as well as many Perkins Schools staff and faculty members, advocating for the need to update and upgrade our school facilities. They worked hard, spending long evenings touring buildings and facilities, discussing the needs of the district, and coming up with a plan that made sense to the community and Perkins Local Schools/ On behalf of the students, staff, and faculty, I say thank you to the community for your support of Perkins Local Schools,” Boggs added.

This article was written by Nate Hinners. Contact Nate at nhinners@huroninsider.com.

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