Construction crews are deep into the second phase of a $20 million facility overhaul at Brooklyn High School, walling off parts of the Biddulph Road campus as they install a new elevator, rebuild science classrooms and modernize the school's main gymnasium entrance. Students returning this fall will encounter two areas they simply cannot access while the work continues.
The project traces back to Issue 21, a $20 million bond measure that Brooklyn voters approved in the March 2024 primary election by the narrowest of margins. As Cleveland.com reports, the bond funds the district's second phase of facility improvements, which now includes second-floor science classroom renovations, work on the art room and community living resource room, and a walled-off construction zone for a new elevator. The measure initially passed by just eight votes, a margin of 50.23% to 49.77% that fell under the 0.5% threshold requiring an automatic county recount, according to WKYC.
For homeowners, the bond translates to roughly $104 in additional annual property taxes per $100,000 of assessed home value, meaning a $150,000 home owes about $156 a year and a $200,000 home about $208, per the same station's reporting.
Two Blocked-Off Zones Greet Returning Students
Brooklyn City Schools Superintendent Theodore Caleris said students will notice two distinct areas of the high school cordoned off this year. Associated science classrooms are expected to reopen by February 1, while the performing arts center and its music, band and choir wing should be finished by March 1, Caleris said, according to the seed reporting from Cleveland.com. The high school's main gymnasium entrance is also under construction, with completion scheduled for mid-October.
Caleris framed the disruption as worthwhile in the long run. “The completed facilities will provide a product the children and community can enjoy for three to four decades,” he said. Other improvements already delivered under the bond include new lockers, windows, storefronts, lighting, stairwell railings and ceilings throughout the high school, plus new cafeteria flooring and upgrades to the Board of Education entrance.
Stadium Renovations And A Refreshed Athletic Complex
Come November, construction crews will turn to the stadium complex, renovating the concession stand along with both the visiting and home locker rooms. That work follows two years of facility upgrades already completed at the Hurricane Alley Athletic Complex, which has received a new turf field with scoreboard, cleaned bleachers and recently added walking paths.
The current construction push flows from Brooklyn City Schools' “Vision 2030” strategic plan, under which the Board of Education formally adopted an updated Master Facility Plan in August 2023. That plan laid out a roadmap for coordinated infrastructure updates spanning the high school campus, district offices and athletic fields, according to the district's own materials. Before the bond even passed, the district had already spent more than $2.3 million between 2020 and 2023 on capital projects including track replacements, fire alarm upgrades, roof repairs and security enhancements.
Bond Dollars Are Separate From Day-To-Day Funding
State law restricts bond proceeds strictly to physical building and equipment projects, which is why the district also asked voters last year to renew Issue 19, a 6-mill levy that generates an estimated $1,762,000 annually for staffing and daily operations without raising property taxes. The distinction matters for residents trying to track where their tax dollars go: capital bonds like Issue 21 pay for construction, while separate operating levies cover teachers and supplies.
Brooklyn also leaned on outside funding to stretch its capital dollars further. In March 2024, the district secured a $266,000 technology grant, freeing up previously budgeted technology funds for other district needs, according to city records. Separately, the district began converting the former Brooklyn Library building into the new Brooklyn Early Childhood and Family Resource Center in January 2025, with the city government waiving local municipal permit fees to support the transition.
The building boom coincides with a growing student population. Brooklyn City Schools saw roughly 200 additional students enroll for the 2025–26 academic year, including 84 open-enrollment students and about 120 returning city residents, according to city council figures. The district also holds a 4 out of 5 star rating, or “Exceeds State Standards,” on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's state report card, a metric the city council has noted alongside the enrollment growth.
Ohio law bars district staff and board members from using paid work hours or public resources to campaign for or against tax levies and bond issues, limiting official communications to factual explanations of project scope and cost. With Phase Two construction now underway across multiple wings of the Biddulph Road campus, district officials say the disruption is temporary measured against a renovation meant to serve Brooklyn students for decades.
