Celina Schools Says State Policy Change Will Reduce Local Share of Building Project

CELINA — Celina City Schools Superintendent Brooke Gessler says a change in state policy tied to the district’s ongoing building project will reduce Celina’s required local contribution and could provide more than 2 million dollars in overall benefit.

In a spring update to the Bulldog community, Gessler said the district has been working with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission to address how interest earned on local funds is applied to rising construction costs.

Under the previous policy, interest earned by both the state and Celina had to be used first to cover cost increases before the original 49 percent state and 51 percent local funding split was applied. Gessler said that created an imbalance because Celina’s local funds had generated much more interest than the state’s share.

According to the update, Celina’s funds have earned more than 4.4 million dollars in interest, compared with about 486 thousand dollars earned on the state’s funds. The district said that gap would have continued increasing Celina’s share of the project over time.

Gessler said that after continued advocacy, a formal petition, and ongoing discussions, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission will introduce a policy change through a second amendment to the project agreement, pending final approval.

As part of that change, the state is expected to commit an additional 1.47 million dollars to the project, which would directly reduce Celina’s required contribution by the same amount.

Gessler also said all current and future interest earned on Celina’s funds will remain with Celina and be applied toward its portion of the project, while the state will use only the interest earned on its own funds for its share.

District leaders said they are still reviewing the full financial impact, but expect the change to create a positive benefit of more than 2 million dollars for Celina Schools.

Gessler called the development a significant win not only for Celina schools and local taxpayers, but also for other districts across Ohio that could benefit from a similar approach going forward.

The update also included information on the 2026 to 2027 school calendar. Gessler said the first day of school will remain Wednesday, August 26th, with a finalized calendar expected by the end of May or early June.

She said some adjustments may be needed for students in grades 7 through 12 depending on when the new high school is ready for staff and students to move in. A decision on that transition is expected by late May or early June. Students in kindergarten through 6th grade will not be affected by the move.

Gessler also reminded families there is no school Friday, April 3rd, or Monday, April 6th, with classes resuming Tuesday, April 7th.