New site for Elida High meets opposition

ELIDA - Although school officials and many community members were excited about the second possible location for the new Elida High School, their excitement wasn't met without some concerns Wednesday night.

During a town meeting at Elida Middle School, more than 100 community members expressed support and concerns after the district announced its new second option for the location of the new Elida High School, which will be built and in use by fall 2011.

Elida Superintendent Don Diglia said during the town meeting the school's new location is more preferable and central; it came to fruition within the past couple of weeks after land became available between the school's field house, near Baxter and North streets, and Elida Middle School on Pioneer Road.

Previously, the district's only site was along Sunnydale Street, west of Eastown Road, at a cost of $817,000.

Although the new site would cost $825,000, Diglia said the district would be able to sell parts of the previous site and significantly lower the cost of the new site.

School officials said the new site would benefit the school and the community as a whole for a variety of reasons and would benefit the village financially. Additionally, it would place the new high school within walking distance of the district's sporting facilities.

"I cannot tell you when I've been more excited about having a town meeting," Diglia said. "We want this to be the gem of the community."

Among those expressing concerns was Mark Jones, of Elida, who has children growing up in the district.

"The price they are buying this for, more than $15,000 an acre, is expensive for farm land," he said. "There will be a lot more traffic, too. It will be very busy at this new location."

Tony Daley, a Shawnee resident looking to locate his family to Elida, agreed about the traffic and expressed concerns about accessibility. He said the new location might make him reconsider moving to Elida.

Mostly, however, residents' concerns centered on how the site would affect their properties and what it would do to their value.

"These concerns are very important to us," Diglia said. "We will be good neighbors and when the school is built their properties will be better because we will improve the area."

Diglia said the district has 40 days to act on the option. And, he said, proceeding with the new site also would not delay the building schedule already established.