South Western City Schools is moving forward with plans to replace Grove City and Westland high schools after voters approved a $220 million bond issue, with construction targeted to begin in 2028 and both new buildings set to open in late summer 2031. The district says it will build both schools on their current campuses, with students attending class as normal throughout construction.
Roughly 66% of voters backed the measure, known as Issue 6, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV, and the bond will not raise the district's millage rate. Its passage also secured roughly $113 million from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission for South Western City Schools, which the station reports is Ohio's fifth-largest public school district, serving more than 22,000 students across Franklin and Pickaway counties.
Board Moves Fast on Short-Term Borrowing
The school board voted Monday to request a construction manager for some of the athletic and extracurricular work covered by the bond, the station's report notes. Board members also approved up to $50 million in short-term borrowing to help pay for facilities work before the district issues its long-term bonds, with part of the voter-approved $220 million eventually used to repay that borrowed amount.
District spokesperson Evan DeBo said the district will not need to purchase new land for the project, since both schools will rise on property the district already owns. DeBo said early discussions have addressed playing surfaces, lighting, sound and bleacher components for the athletic upgrades, and per the same account, Central Crossing could be among the first sites where work begins.
New Buildings Aim to Ease Career Academy Waitlist
Grove City High School and Westland High School both opened in 1971, and the district says both replacement buildings would include more room for career and technical education. That space is sorely needed: the district reported 175 juniors were waitlisted for programs at the South Western Career Academy during the 2025-26 school year.
Beyond the two new high schools, the bond will fund improvements to extracurricular facilities at Central Crossing and Franklin Heights high schools. The district also plans to add turf fields for marching bands and athletics at those two schools and at Westland, which would give all four South Western high schools turf fields once complete. The district says it plans to post project updates on its Segment 3 facilities webpage.
Grove City Charter Change Clouds the Timeline
Even as the bond moves forward, a separate ballot measure could complicate the Grove City High School rebuild specifically. Grove City voters approved Issue 28, a charter amendment requiring citywide votes on qualifying developments of 50 acres or more, including data centers, according to WOSU Public Media, which reported the amendment passed with 54.61% support based on unofficial Franklin County Board of Elections results.
Before the election, Grove City had concluded that the new Grove City High School would require voter approval because the current campus exceeds 50 acres and schools are not exempt under the amendment, per NBC4's reporting. City law director Stephen Smith said in a statement that Grove City is still reviewing how Issue 28 applies and how it may affect the project's timelines and implementation. The district created its construction timeline before Issue 28 took shape, and per Smith, Grove City residents could be asked to approve construction of the school in the November 2027 general election.
An excerpt of the amendment filed with the Franklin County Board of Elections states that a project meets the acreage threshold if it occupies or proposes to occupy 50 or more contiguous acres in total project footprint, though the excerpt provided does not establish the amendment's complete legal criteria. WOSU also noted a wider pattern across Ohio, where voters have appeared to reject data center developments and several cities have banned them outright within city limits.
