GENEVA – Voters in the Geneva Area City School District overwhelmingly rejected a $15,955,000 bond issue for the district’s proposed athletic facility in the Tuesday, Nov. 4 election.
According to unofficial election results from the Ashtabula County Board of Elections, 3,317, or 74.47 percent, voted against the bond issue while only 1,100, or 24.70 percent, were in favor.
When asked for comment by the Gazette Tuesday night, Geneva School Board President Michele Krieg provided a statement via e-mail.
“We will take a little break and reassess!!!,” she said. “While we are disappointed that the bond levy for the new athletic facility did not pass, we respect the decision of our community and appreciate everyone who took the time to learn about the issue and vote. Even though I am of five members, I think I can confidently say the Board of Education remains committed to providing safe and supportive facilities for our students and will continue to evaluate our options moving forward. We are grateful for the many community members who engaged in this process and shared their ideas and feedback. Together, we will keep working toward solutions that serve our students, schools, and community well.”
The district proposed to build a new athletic facility beside the high school with the money from the bond issue.
It would have consisted of a new football/soccer stadium with 4,500 seats, eight-lane track, artificial turf field, band pavilion, and press box; a 16,500-sq.-ft. building with new restrooms, locker rooms, weight room, concessions, and storage; new lighting and sound system; new water and electric utilities for baseball/softball restrooms; disc golf course; practice fields; additional parking; and storage building.
In a previous presentation to the school board, district athletic director Jennifer Crossley said that the proposed athletic facility was needed now because the district’s usage agreement with SPIRE ends in June 2027.
“SPIRE is growing and adding more sports and also athletes,” she said. “The time in which we get to practice is always in question. The use of locker rooms and storage is in question. Soccer coaches carry everything all season long, in their cars, back and forth to their jobs, back and forth to school. The travel for the students and parents back and forth to practice is a daily issue. Often, our teams have to share a field just to be able to have practice.”
