River View seeking $44.4 million in grants - what are the plans?

WARSAW − River View Local Schools is pursuing three connected grants totaling $44.4 million that would transform its campus and allow for greater connection to the community with offerings of services and facilities.

Applications were recently submitted to the State of Ohio for a Cultural Facilities Grant to make upgrades to the auditorium, an Appalachian Community Innovation Centers Grant to expand community services and a one-time Strategic Community Investment Fund Grant to build an addition to River View High School.

Grant writer Tammy Fox and Superintendent Chuck Rinkes said they should hear back on each grant in May. If the projects move forward, they would probably take three to five years to complete.

"It's an ambitious plan, but we feel now is the time. We've had some things that have needed to be done," Fox said.

River View has a student body of just under 1,700 with 260 staff members and a budget around $19.5 million. It's one of the largest districts in Ohio size wise with 1,285 bus stops.

Project specifics

The general plan is to add a two tier addition to the front of River View High School. Sixth grade would be moved into the second floor from the intermediate school. Preschool to second grade would be added to the intermediate school from the elementary school. This would take the district from three buildings to two and one campus.

This past school year, River View closed Keene and Conesville elementary schools and moved junior high students to the high school. Third to sixth grades are in the former junior high and preschool to second grade is at River View Elementary School, formerly Warsaw Elementary School. Rinkes previously said the moves were made based on shrinking enrollment and age of the buildings.

The bottom floor of the new additions would house a digital lab, health clinic, gym and swimming pool. These amenities would not only be open to students and staff, but the greater community. Fox said the digital lab would allow individuals to do job searches and applications and there could be some partnership with Ohio Means Jobs. While the health clinic would provide mental health counseling and general medical care.

"It will expand our educational opportunities, but also our community services," Fox said. "We have a lot of constituents in our area that don't all have access, all the time, to (Coshocton) or (Warsaw), so we're hoping to pull them in."

Rinkes said they see a need for a pool not only for their swim team, but the public with the River View Community Pool closed for repairs and the fate of the pool at Coshocton High School in question if Coshocton City Schools would ever construct a new high school or renovate the old.

Updating the auditorium would also open it up to greater community use. This would include new seating, lighting and sound system. It seats 990 people. Most elements are nearly 60 years old. The gold curtain was replaced two years ago for $18,000 and the black curtain on the stage is on order. Rinkes said they had to be replaced as they're not flame retardant.

As far as community use, the auditorium is used now for the Warsaw Lions Club annual variety show and the Coshocton Community Choir is considering making it their permanent home for performances. Rinkes said there is a Auditorium Renovation Committee in place.

"This grant would help that committee speed up the process of fundraising and getting some of these things put into place faster than the three year timeline I put on that committee," Rinkes said. "The auditorium is definitely a community hub with different organizations using it throughout the year. As we do these renovations and update these things, I can see more and more people wanting to use it."

Grant funding importance

Fox and Rinkes admit the district doesn't have a good history of passing tax levies and have seen a big dip in funding since the closure of the American Electric Power plant in Conesville. Fox knows part of that is because the district contains many lower-middle class families, who would benefit from these projects but possibly can't contribute monetarily.

"It makes a big difference on what we can pull in. Every time we look at doing something new, it's got to be that we're considering funding from another source," Fox said.

Rinkes added that grant funding is going to be about the only way River View can continue to grow and upgrade in the future. In a recent meeting with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, Rinkes said officials told him these projects are a step in the right direction. A current bill at the statehouse could see the aid the district would get from the OFCC for new buildings or renovations go from 20% to 40%, which would make work more manageable.

"They said if you do these things and you ever had to come to us for a bond issue, you already have a lot of this stuff already done. So, the tax burden for the district and for the state would not be as much," Rinkes said. "Of the three grants we're looking at, we have a great opportunity to change the trajectory of what the facilities at River View actually look like over the next 50 years."

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: River View seeking $44.4 million in grants for three major projects