Families returning to Upper Arlington Schools on Aug. 12, will find the district already making its case for a $273.5 million bond issue and 4.9-mill operating levy headed to the Nov. 3 ballot.

Superintendent Dr. Bob Hunt laid out the stakes on the city's "Won't You Be Our Neighbor" podcast, released Aug. 5, joining City Manager Steve Schoeny and City Attorney Darren Shulman for a conversation about what the combined measures would mean for three aging school buildings.

The bond would fund phase two of the district's Master Facilities Plan, targeting Hastings Middle School, Jones Middle School and Burbank Early Childhood School. Hastings would be rebuilt on its athletic field. Jones, whose original 1923 three-story building sits within a National Register historic district, would keep that structure for administrative and counseling space while gaining roughly 45,000 square feet of new classrooms, a performing arts wing and a gymnasium. Burbank would be rebuilt with additional classrooms to meet growing demand for preschool and special education services.

Both middle schools would also get synthetic turf athletic fields.

During the Jones construction, projected to take about 2.5 years, seventh- and eighth-graders would move to a new third-floor addition at Upper Arlington High School above the Mincy Center. That space was structurally prepared for a future addition when the high school was built. Sixth-graders would use modular classrooms at Tremont Elementary.

For a home valued at $500,000 by the Franklin County Auditor, the combined measures would add about $1,250 per year, or roughly $105 per month, in property taxes. The bond portion represents a 2.25-mill increase above the district's current 5.7-mill bond tax rate. Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Geistfeld presented the financial recommendation to the Board of Education.

Hunt has framed the investment as unavoidable. "There needs to be a significant investment in these schools to keep them operational," he told the board at its May 27 special meeting, when he first presented the phase two recommendations. In the district's June 30 announcement, he added that "there is no zero-cost option" and that the plan "provides a long-term solution that preserves what our community values."

The plan grew out of roughly two years of community engagement. The district reported more than 8,500 stakeholder touchpoints through surveys, focus groups and public meetings in its June 30 announcement. Phase one, completed more than a decade ago, produced a new high school and renovated elementary buildings but deliberately deferred work on the middle schools and Burbank.

The Board of Education unanimously approved the final resolution to place both measures on the ballot at its June 30 special meeting, as we reported Aug. 4.

On the podcast, Hunt also discussed how district staff spent the summer preparing buildings and classrooms for the first day of school. The episode is available on Spotify and other podcast platforms.

The district says more detailed voter information will be released this fall ahead of the Nov. 3 election. No specific community information session dates have been announced.