Ludlow Independent School District received $23,010,000 as a special offer of Assistance from the State Facilities Construction Commission to help them bring their schools up to date.
As the State Legislative Assembly closed their session last week, Ludlow received the news that they were at the top of the monetary list for the amount of money schools were given to remodel their buildings.
“The investment of over $23 million dollars in Ludlow Schools will be a game changer for our students and community,” said Superintendent Michael Borchers. “This will allow our district to offer our students a world class education in a state-of-the-art facility. We are extremely grateful for the support our legislators have given us to make this a reality.”
Borchers said he was very appreciative of the work done by Rep. Kim Banta in the House, and Sen. Chris McDaniel, who supported the legislation in the Senate, along with Reps. Ed Massey, Sal Santoro, and Buddy Wheatley, all of whom he said worked very hard to garner the funds to upgrade the schools in Ludlow.
Borchers explained how there is a list of schools in the state called a KFIX list, where schools are ranked according to their age and need, and he said Ludlow was in the top 10 of that list, so they were half expecting and half hoping that they would get a large chunk of monetary help.
The SFCC does not regularly give out that much money to one school, Borchers said, although this year Carter County apparently received $27 million, which he thought might have been to combine two high schools. In the Northern Kentucky area, Bellevue Independent Schools received $12 million, and Grant County received over $7 million.
“We also have about $8.5 million in bonding potential,” Borchers said. “So we’re really going to have a total project of $31 million, and of the $31 million, $27 1/2 million will be coming from the state fund. Our local funding will be about $4 million in matching funds.”
Monday morning Borchers met with Robert Ehmet Hayes, the architect they use for building projects, to firm up some of the plans for the renovations that have previously only existed in theory.
The goal is to get everything ready to go out for bid in late summer or early fall, and then be able to start the project in early January of 2023. Borchers said the project will probably take two years to complete, and they will have to do the work in phases, working around the students and classes while school is in session.
Due to the fact that the district was aware they would get some money, the administrative team, which consists of the two principals, Travis Caudill, and Tonya Brummer, Director of Student Services Jennifer McMillen, Chief Information Officer Kyle Fancher, Director of Teaching and Learning Jason Steffen, and Superintendent Borchers, visited new schools, like the Ignite Institute, and some of the newer schools in Boone County, as well as old schools that have totally renovated their buildings. They were able to take into consideration all the ideas and the new innovations that are happening in schools, and prioritize those new ideas on a wish list.
Borchers said the plan is basically to gut both buildings, and have all new everything, from flooring to ceilings, and everything in between.
Recently the district showed off new sound systems, which make it possible for every student to be able to hear what the teacher talks about, and new touch screen boards which are visible even to students in the back row — it basically makes the back row a thing of the past.
He said that classroom in the high school will be the ideal for every classroom in both buildings. Borchers said he wants to set up a room for parental meetings near the front of the schools that is easily accessible.
“We are going to try and have more collaborative spaces,” he explained. “We are designing the schools to be user friendly for the kids and also very friendly for our families.”
The initial list of items to do with this money is to redo the auditorium, install new roofs, and safety upgrades, create new vestibules, redesign all classroom settings, upgrade all lighting, improve classroom technology, add classroom space, create makerspaces, upgrade the entire cafeteria, create a multipurpose room, and upgrade offices.
The HVAC system is still fairly new, so they don’t have to replace that, but Borchers said they will enhance the system with upgraded air quality technology that has been available in response to the pandemic.
Ludlow High School was built in 1932, at a cost of $164,000, and Mary A. Goetz was built in 1957. The High school was initially named George Washington High School, but was later shortened to Ludlow high School. Originally there were 426 students in K through 12 grades, and now there are 469 students just in Mary A Goetz elementary, and 450 in grades 7 through 12 in high school. They have a graduating class of approximately 81.
People in the community are getting used to the idea that their school district is on the way to becoming state of the art.
Brandi Helton has three sons in the school district.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “Ludlow needed to be renovated and updated. I’m excited for my boys to have new technology options, and I’m excited to see it when it’s all done!”
Debbie Bogenschutz volunteers at the elementary school two mornings a week, and is very happy about the assistance.
“Ludlow has a great school system, great teachers and administrators, but the buildings are old, and have problems as all old buildings do,” she said. “I have volunteered in both the elementary and the high school buildings, and you can get from one to the other without going outside, but it is a maze, and I usually make at least one wrong turn. I’m sure there are more demands on the electrical system now that computers are everywhere. I’m a relative newcomer to Ludlow, but my husband, stepson, and grandson all went to Ludlow Schools. Education has changed a lot, and buildings have to keep up with the changes.”
