Home Care In Avon Lake, OH

AVON LAKE, Ohio -- Avon Lake City School District leaders are set to bring back before voters a failed ballot initiative for a $170 million bond issue.

District officials were surprised when their Issue 11 bond issue in this month’s election failed to be supported by voters, losing by just 441 votes.

If passed, Issue 11 would have paid for constructing, furnishing and equipping two new pre-K to fifth-grade elementary schools at the current Troy and Eastview school sites, one new middle school at the Learwood site and making improvements to Avon Lake High School.

Now, school board members have agreed to move forward with plans to ask voters to reconsider the rejection in the March election.

“The need remains,” said Superintendent Joelle Magyar. “We have buildings that are inadequate for today’s learners and for our future Shoremen and Shoregals.

“Issue 11 was defeated by a small margin, given the number of residents who turned out to vote on Nov. 7. We were pleased with the support we received.

“We now need to target our focus to those who may need more information on the project, while making sure our supporters come out in March,” Magyar said.

The final, unofficial vote tally, as reported by the Lorain County Board of Elections, was 6,242 against and 5,801 in support of Issue 11 -- 51.8 percent voting no and 48.2 percent choosing yes.

Magyar said the new resolution allows the district to place the $170 million, 37-year bond issue on the March ballot for the Building A Legacy project.

“At the completion of the project, all students from pre-K to eighth grade in the district would be attending school in a new building,” she said.

“In addition, once the former buildings are vacated, the district plans to put additional athletic fields at the Erieview (School) site and green space at Westview,” she said.

“The Memorandum Agreement to sell the Redwood site to the City of Avon Lake would still be in place. The city would use the site for a senior center and offices for the Parks and Recreation Department.”

Magyar added: “The district will continue to post updates and facts regarding the Building A Legacy campaign on its website, and community members are encouraged to reach out to district officials if they have any questions regarding the bond issue or the schools.”

After the unexpected defeat of the bond issue, the school board held a special meeting while attending the Ohio School Boards Association’s annual conference in Columbus last week.

Members voted to pass a resolution of necessity to add the bond issue to the primary election ballot on March 19. Steps had to be taken promptly, as a deadline for starting the process expired on Monday (Nov. 20).

The second step in the process is the Resolution to Proceed with Bond Issue, which will be voted on at a special board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at Avon Lake High School, where the district’s five-year plan will also be presented by treasurer Autumn Reed.

The Lorain County Board of Elections filing deadline for the March 19 ballot is Dec. 20.

Plans for the Building A Legacy campaign can be viewed at www.avonlakecityschools.org/district/community/facilities and comments can be emailed to [email protected].

If Issue 11 passes in Avon Lake, the district will build two new and bigger elementary schools, a new middle school, plus renovate the current high school.

AVON LAKE, Ohio — We are less than two weeks away from Election Day.

More than 50 school districts across Northeast Ohio have initiatives on the ballot, with four districts asking for more than $100 million to build new schools and renovate old buildings.

RELATED: List of Northeast Ohio school districts with levies and bond issues on the November 7 election ballot

In Avon Lake, voters are being asked to decide on Issue 11. If the bond issue is passed, the Avon Lake City Schools will receive $170 million to build three new buildings and renovate the high school.

"We need facilities to support the type of learning that we need to engage our kids in for their future," said Joelle Magyar, the new superintendent for Avon Lake City Schools,

Currently, the district operates four elementary schools, an intermediate school, plus a middle and high school. Under the new plan, Avon Lake City Schools would consolidate from seven buildings to four -- building two new and bigger elementary schools and a new middle school -- while also renovating the current high school.

"Operationally, the district will save anywhere from $1.5 to $1.9 million dollars a year in operation cost," Magyar explained.

The district says if Issue 11 is approved, property owners will initially pay $266 for every $100,000 their property is worth. That cost will drop to $196 when a previous bond issue expires in 2026.

"Some people are on limited incomes, so I'm against Issue 11," stated Avon Lake resident Ron Ochsenwald, who believes the school district is asking for too much at one time.

Fellow residents David and Janet Wade disagree. "We feel that the schools are very important to the housing values and what not and we think they need some new schools," David Wade told 3News.

You might ask: why not just renovate the schools instead of building new ones? Avon Lake district leaders say the cost to renovate all their K-8 buildings is 65-70% of the cost to just build new ones. They believe that renovation is just a temporary fix to an ongoing problem of the need for new school buildings.

3News reached out to the organization supporting Issue 11, Avon Lake Citizens for Schools, and received the following statement:

"For over 100 years, our community has supported the Avon Lake City School District. On November 7th, a vote FOR Issue #11 will leave a legacy for future generations. The construction of three new buildings and renovations to Avon Lake High School will provide safe and updated facilities that our children and educators deserve. By building new, the school district will experience significant operational cost savings each year. By voting FOR Issue #11, all citizens of Avon Lake will benefit with increased meeting and green spaces! In addition, our strong schools make Avon Lake a desirable place for people to live and raise their families. We hope that every voter in our community will continue to support the future success of Avon Lake City Schools by voting FOR Issue #11."

For the second year in a row, the Avon Lake High School marching band will compete in the Ohio Music Education Association state finals.

The event will take place Oct. 28 at Hilliard Bradley High School, 2800 Walker Road in Hilliard.

The state finals will occur over multiple weeks in October and November.

Josh Brunger, director of bands for Avon Lake High, said getting to the finals involves a qualification process spanning a seven-week season.

The preliminary band competition often creates a family-like atmosphere, Brunger said.

“This past week we were in Copley, and there were two high school groups that had not yet earned that superior rating to go to states,” he said. “Everybody was cheering them on, because we’re all kind of in the same boat.

“We all want the best for each other.”

The performances are graded on a variety of factors, in both the audio and visual realms, Brunger said.

The whole show must tell a coherent story for the judges to consider allowing a band to compete in the state finals, he said

“(You’re being graded on) music, how it sounds, how it sounds with each other, if it’s entertaining in how they’re playing it,” Brunger said. “Along with their marching, the shapes have to look like shapes.

“If it’s going to be a circle, it should obviously look like a circle; is it entertaining and telling a story?”

To create that coherent, show-length narrative, the band has to work nearly all year long.

Brunger said that ideas for the upcoming year’s show often come six to eight months before the band even begins practicing.

“We start the ideas for the show in December,” he said. “We don’t actually get to work with it with the kids until August.

“So, there’s a lot of planning involved ahead of time, and then also, you’ve got to teach the kids to do all the basic marching and things like that.”

Brunger explained that getting into the finals is no small feat.

Avon Lake High’s multiple appearances over the past decade is a massive feather in the cap of the music program, he said.

“The fact that we’re able to go again, because we went last year as well, is a really big deal,” Brunger said. “This is it.

“We like to joke around and keep things light, and that definitely helps. But all the work (still) goes into it.”

Brunger thanked his directorial staff for helping the band get to this point once again.

The Ohio Music Education Association state marching band finals will take place Oct. 28, Oct. 29, Nov. 4, and Nov. 5.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and school-age children, and free for children younger than 5.

AVON LAKE, Ohio -- The Avon Lake City School District recently hosted another update session for residents regarding future facilities, including construction of some new schools.

Superintendent Joelle Magyar chaired the Sept. 28 forum, with about 100 people attending.

“It was well attended, and the community forum was put on by the Board of Education,” she said. “The purpose was to give the community some factual information about our bond issue and then allow the community to ask questions.”

The district is asking voters to approve a 7.6-mill, 37-year bond issue for new schools and improvements on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Approximately 40 slides were presented at the forum.

“The detail was mostly financial questions,” noted Magyar. “We even have a question-and-answer on our website about the financials, which can be found on the front pages at www.avonlakecityschools.org.”

Magyar commented that there are some misconceptions, especially about home values in the district.

“Since all home values are going up, people think therein lies taxes going up with the same amount. It’s not the case. Your taxes don’t go up in the proportion of your home value,” she said.

She let residents know that they can talk to Schools Treasurer Autum Reed about individual examples. Reed can be contacted at her office, 440-933-5163.

“We will be closing four schools: Eastview, Erievew, Troy and Westview,” Magyar said.

“And the bond issue will replace them with two PreK-to-grade-5 buildings and grades 6-8 for the middle school.

“A review of buildings included a ‘memorandum of understanding’ between the City of Avon Lake and the school district,” Magyar said. “The district agrees to sell Redwood Elementary to the City of Avon Lake for $500,000, and the city plans to create a senior center and additional recreation center in that facility.”

In terms of future planning for the district, Magyar said: “We didn’t add anything if the bond issue passes. Erieview and Westview would be kept as properties for green space and possibly to add more green space for the community and the schools.

“The goal of the community forum was for people to have accurate information. The social media that people see when they go (online) for information, unfortunately, are seeing information that is not accurate,” she said.

“So our purpose is to provide the true and accurate information so that people can make a decision at the polls from information that is factual and accurate.”

After years of searching for the right place in Avon Lake, Craig Hoover, Andrew Gorski and Anthony Rossi finally settled on a location for their new bar.

Officially opening on July 22, Edacious Kitchen + Bar, 33451 Lake Road in Avon Lake, had its ribbon-cutting on July 19.

“We’ve been planning this (for) about two years,” Hoover said. “(Gorski) and I started about two years ago, joking around, (that) we should start something.

“We started seriously talking about it because we were both involved with other establishments. It took us two years to finally find something and get going.”

With an updated coat of paint and a striking logo of a rabbit-and-pig hybrid, the building formerly known as The Caslon now offers slightly upscale bar-and-restaurant food.

Hoover said the logo was meant to be attention-getting above all else.

“We wanted to something that would catch your eye,” he said. “We had a few renderings done, and I think it was about the sixth one was the one we loved.”

Gorski said that under the direction of Rossi, the manager and executive chef,, the bar will serve smaller plates, a rarity for the Lorain County area.

“(We’re doing) rustic, American-style food,” Rossi said. “Stuff that people are going to recognize, but we’re going to present it in a way that’s a little more refined … a slightly modern, more tasteful approach to the presentation and whatnot.”

The idea of a smaller menu, Gorski explained, is to allow patrons to experience more of the menu and try out different flavors in a laid-back setting.

“We’re a local neighborhood restaurant and bar,” he said. “We’re going to be doing dinner, lunch and then brunch (on weekends) … smaller plates, seasonality when it comes to food.”

City of Avon Lake officials said Edacious will help to serve the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, and its setting up shop on Lake Road will be a big help to the city’s business plans.

“In 2019, Avon Lake updated its Comprehensive Land Use Plan and established three Focus Areas for development: Lake Road, Lear Road and Town Center,” according to a statement from the city. “Edacious is on Lake Road in the heart of the Lake Road Focus Area, and we believe that with it will come the vibrancy that we seek in this part of (Avon Lake).”

Hoover said the crew at Edacious is thrilled about the grand opening, and they are excited to see their years of labor finally come to fruition.

“Very, very excited,” he said. “A lot of hard work and stress, but yeah, it’s time to go now.”

The restaurant’s hours are 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.

Contact Edacious Kitchen + Bar at 440-653-5995.