Wooster school board approves $8.4 million modular plan

With the Wooster City Schools Board of Education’s decision to add about $8 million in modular units for the 2027-28 school year, 2026-27 will be the final year for the Cornerstone building to serve as a school facility.

The board approved an elementary modular configuration with a 4-1 vote at its May 19 meeting, which included granting permission for the WCS superintendent and treasurer to negotiate and execute a contract with a mobile modular business not to exceed the company’s quote of $8,376,701.60, with a 10% change-order threshold. Board member Clayton Deighan voted against it.

With the configuration approval, students will begin school in August 2027 with eight double-wide modulars each at Melrose and Parkview elementary schools for 32 total classroom spaces with third grade through fourth grade at Parkview, first grade through second grade at Melrose and prekindergarten and kindergarten at Kean Elementary, as well as no grade changes at Edgewood Middle School and the high school. Kean won’t have modulars because they wouldn’t fit well there due to water tower and easement limitations, according to Superintendent Gabe Tudor.

“This is significant, the most significant thing that has probably happened to the district since they built the high school 30-some years ago,” board member Rik Goodright said.

The more-than-100-year-old Cornerstone building served first as the high school and then as an elementary school, but according to Tudor and most of the board members, it is the best path forward financially for the district and for the students’ learning, though it’s also bittersweet.

“I do think we can make the best of this," Tudor said. "I do think that these modulars are not exactly what you think about when you think of a modular or a double-wide by any stretch of the imagination. But at the same time, this is not a permanent solution.”

After several failed facilities levies, deciding another levy wouldn’t pass and mounting costs to maintain Cornerstone, the board came to the consensus through past board meetings and a work session that a modular option was best.

Tudor not only gave a presentation for the approved modular configuration, but also another elementary configuration and a high school configuration.

The high school option would have included 16 double-wide modulars for 32 classroom spaces and redistricting grades K-2 at Kean, Melrose and Parkview; third grade through fifth grade at Edgewood; sixth grade through eighth grade in a middle school setting on the high school campus with the modulars; and ninth grade through 12th grade at the high school, as well as prekindergarten at Kean.

The other elementary option Tudor presented included modulars at the Kean, Melrose and Parkview elementary buildings, with each site having six double-wide modulars for 36 total classrooms. Eight grade through 12th grade would have remained at the high school, and Edgewood Middle School would have kept fifth grade through seventh grade. Because this option required three sites to be developed, redistricting and other disadvantages, Tudor said that’s why he chose the other elementary option to recommend to the board.

After his presentation and discussion, the board decided to go with Tudor’s recommendation.

Earlier in the meeting during the public participation portion on agenda items, many residents expressed opinions about modulars, mostly negative, as they did in the previous meeting April 21 when the modulars became the favored plan after the April 8 work session about facilities. However, a number of residents’ comments were in favor of getting students out of Cornerstone, and some praised the modular decision as a good temporary solution.

The board allowed this part of the meeting to go over the usual limit of 30 minutes but still kept comments to no more than three minutes. In-person and online feedback ended up going for about 45 minutes.

In his presentation Tudor responded to concerns about safety from weather (the modulars will be bolted to concrete, and because they are tied together, they will be much more stable in the event of winds), intruders (areas with modulars can be fenced in) and other issues raised by residents.

Some of the other positives Tudor pointed out in his presentation included the following: The new modular classrooms will be 850 square feet, which is much larger than many current classrooms; there will be multiple windows in each classroom; all rooms will be carpeted; and each room will have its own temperature control, an improvement over many current classrooms.

Funding will be secured through a Certificates of Participation loan, according to Tudor.

With all the public participation, presentation and discussion on the modular topic, as well as recognition of retirees, along with the usual student, staff and other recognition and end-of-the-school-year business items, the meeting lasted a little more than four hours.