Toledo-area school district funds multi-use building

ROSSFORD, Ohio — Rossford Schools Superintendent Dan Creps said the district won’t have to increase taxes to pay for a new $16 million facility that’s in the works.

“We knew, given this community’s commitment to our buildings for academics, that returning to them for additional millage was just not an option,” Creps said. 

The district wanted to expand opportunities for its students, so they found a creative way to secure funding for a $16 million multi-use facility through a method called an Enterprise Zone Agreement, where businesses in the school district agree to invest in the area for tax exemptions.

Some of the larger companies in the agreement include Walgreens, FedEx and Amazon. This will be a multi-functional building meant for athletics and academics. 

“A lot of people just want to refer to it as an athletic facility, and we’re quick to point out that’s just not the case,” Creps said. 

Creps said Amazon pledged funding over the next 15 years to help the district pay for the building, which will include an indoor athletic facility. There will also be a brand new feature, an e-sports section, that will create an entirely new program for students. 

“We can use it for a number of different purposes based on the technology we’re building in this space. But the primary focus here is to build that e-sports program,” Creps said. 

In another part of the building, there is room to expand its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program.

“Given the interest from our students, we knew that this would provide an opportunity to grow that and provide additional space,” Creps said. 

The location will be next to the other school sports facilities. Matt Thompson of Rossford Schools said this is an ideal situation. 

“We got our track and soccer field right here. (The) elementary school is right here. Obviously, we already own the land. It’s a great place to put this,” Thompson said. 

Creps said that when this facility is complete, it will definitely stand out. 

“There are some colleges and universities that have some similar settings. But to our knowledge, this is one of the first in the area,” Creps said. 

The district plans on breaking ground in May 2022, with an expected completion date in August 2023.