Finneytown schools unveils name of its newest building opening in spring 2022

Finneytown Local School District and its building partners held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of Brent Elementary Sunday afternoon and announced the name of its new building to open in spring 2022 as Finneytown Elementary.

Finneytown Elementary will be the new face of the small census-designated area in Springfield Township, school board president Chad Engleman told The Enquirer. 

"The new Finneytown Elementary will have a deep and positive impact on the community for years to come, serving generations of families and providing quality educational opportunities for our children," Springfield Township trustee Joseph Honnerlaw said in a news release. 

The $22 million, 90,000 square foot school building will serve students in grades K-6. Finneytown is also working on a building to serve 7-12 students at the site of the current Finneytown High School campus. Whitaker Elementary, currently serving students in grades 2-5, will be demolished and abated once the new buildings are open, according to the district's website. The project will total more than $50 million, funded by a 2019 bond issue and the Ohio Construction Commission.

"The current buildings have served the community well, but it is time to have new facilities," said superintendent Terri Noe. She is retiring this summer and will be replaced by current assistant superintendent Laurie Banks. "The community understood that it was a better investment for the future to build new instead of trying to renovate the older facilities at a higher cost."

Finneytown Schools partnered with Skanska USA and emersion Design for the project. Winton Woods City Schools also partnered with Skanska for its two new school buildings, one of which opened to 7-12 students at the end of March.

The new facilities were designed with enhanced safety and wellness features, including updated ventilation, Noe said. Finneytown Elementary principal Meredith Baker says the most "striking" feature of the new elementary school is its learning communities, which offer shared spaces to promote collaboration between classrooms and grade levels.

In the release, school board member Cindy Rebman said modern learning spaces have been a district goal for 20 years.

"Today we know that students don’t learn as well seated in the same desk facing forward listening to a lecture, yet our old buildings are still designed for that. While the district and staff have adapted these old spaces as they could, it’s not ideal and some challenges simply can’t be overcome," Rebman said.

Information about the second phase of the project, which includes a new secondary campus for grades 7-12, has yet to be released.