It Matters
Upper Arlington’s students, educators, and families have been the foundation for one of Ohio’s most respected communities for over one hundred years. Education is valued in UA — and it shows.
It has been the promise of generations to give every UA child an exceptional education, and voting FOR the bond and levy this November is how we keep that promise. This issue ensures every child has the classrooms, resources, and support they need to learn and grow, while preserving the excellence that has long defined UA Schools.
The challenges we’re facing at Hastings, Jones, and Burbank don’t get easier with time. UA can’t afford to wait.
Every UA student deserves a great foundation.
Most of us attended schools where desks were arranged in orderly rows and we focused on memorizing facts devoid of context. That approach is as far as could be from modern methods of teaching and learning. Over the last several years, UA voters rebuilt the high school and renovated or rebuilt all five elementary schools, purposefully designed around how kids actually learn today: small groups, project teams, hands-on work — while classrooms at Hastings, Jones, and Burbank are frozen in time. Every UA child deserves that same foundation. This measure provides for adequately sized classrooms, updated labs and technology, stronger safety and security, and efficient heating, cooling, and lighting.
Doing nothing isn’t free.
Hastings, Jones, and Burbank are housed in buildings well beyond their expected and useful life. These buildings have been well maintained over the years, but interim repairs are no longer enough. It’s not a question of if critical systems fail. It’s a question of where students will be when they do.
There is no zero cost option. Hastings, Jones, and Burbank need more than $124 million in repairs, and construction costs in central Ohio have nearly doubled since 2017. Waiting doesn’t save money. It guarantees paying more for the same result.
We know this is a hard time to ask UA families for anything more. Grocery prices, gas, and the cost of everything else have squeezed budgets across our community. That’s exactly why timing matters. Every year we wait, Hastings, Jones, and Burbank only get more expensive to replace.
A promise made. A promise to keep.
A decade ago, Upper Arlington reaffirmed its commitment to being one of Ohio’s most respected communities, and in 2017 voters approved a plan to rebuild or renovate our nine school buildings. The high school and five elementary schools came first. Hastings, Jones, and Burbank were always meant to be next. This isn’t new — it’s Phase 2 of the plan.
This is how we keep the promises this community has made to every UA child, and to each other.
