With the 2026 election quickly approaching, knowing the factual information on Issue #4 is crucial before casting your vote. To better understand the proposal, Superintendent Dr. Paul Milcetich and Assistant Superintendent Mike Hayes answered questions about the Aurora’s Essential Plan’s development, its potential impact on students, and the financial considerations facing the district.
Following the failure of the previous bond issue in 2024, Aurora City Schools developed a narrower proposal known as The Essential Plan. The proposal includes a new elementary school for grades 1–3 at the current Craddock Elementary site, a new transportation facility, and major infrastructure improvements throughout the district.
Before sharing the details regarding this plan, I want to point out that the information from Mr. Hayes and Dr. Milcetich is strictly informative. All opinions are my own.
Hayes mentioned, “Our official role is strictly educational: we are permitted only to provide factual, objective, and neutral information so that all citizens, parents, and voters can make their own informed decisions at the ballot box.”
A trait of all respected good leaders is to listen to feedback and that’s what Hayes and Dr. Milcetich did. Following the community’s feedback from 2024, Dr. Milcetich asked Aurora a different question: “What is truly essential?” The outcome of this resulted in the formation of a narrower plan - focusing on “early-elementary education, transportation infrastructure, and preservation of the buildings we already own. That is why we call it The Essential Plan. It represents what we believe needs to be addressed rather than everything we might like to address,” Dr. Milcetich said.
As a result of the community’s feedback, this new plan was crafted around the school district’s urgent necessities. “In other words, we tried to distinguish between ‘this would be nice to have’ and ‘this is something we need to address,” Dr. Milcetich said. Nevertheless, the most complex decision during this process was determining what is truly essential and deciding what not to do. Ultimately, the final plan came down to separating wants vs. needs.
Dr. Milcetich explained, “The difficult part of developing The Essential Plan was separating projects that would be beneficial from improvements we believe are necessary. We ultimately centered the plan around replacing our oldest elementary infrastructure, addressing transportation, creating enough elementary capacity to eliminate temporary classrooms, and making major capital improvements that extend the lives of our remaining schools.” Now, The Essential Plan directly focuses on the absolute needs of the district.
For the new elementary building, Hayes explained, “The proposed 117,104-square-foot elementary building on the Craddock site would look to include purpose-built small-group rooms immediately adjacent to classrooms for reading specialists, speech therapists, intervention specialists, and counselors.”
The building would also have a more solid integrated technology infrastructure. With the modern classroom designs, the school would have “updated electrical, data, and audiovisual systems to support contemporary digital tools and interactive learning without physical constraints,” Hayes continued. Furthermore, Hayes points out that “Modernizing district infrastructure protects the community's multi-generational investment in its public assets, ensuring school buildings remain functional and safe for decades to come.” The community constructed these schools in 1911, which was built in the interest and purpose of longevity. Now, 115 years later, we are determined to do the same to help shape the next 115 years of Aurora.
Regarding the new elementary building, Dr. Milcetich explained, “A new grades 1–3 school would provide right-sized classrooms, flexible learning spaces, areas for small-group instruction and collaboration, updated technology and infrastructure, and spaces specifically designed for art, music, physical education, intervention and other programming. It would also allow us to bring third grade into the new building, which creates additional space at Leighton for grades 4–5.”
Lastly, Hayes pointed out that the “Modern construction ensures full ADA compliance, improved acoustics, variable lighting, and climate control designed to accommodate diverse sensory and physical learning needs.”
Some residents without children in the district or with older children may not realize the significant impact this issue on the ballot can have on students’ academic achievement. Hayes explained, “Some may view facility bond issues solely as physical or structural projects (roofs, pipes, boilers), but building layouts directly dictate how daily instruction, intervention, and grade-level programming occur. Reconfiguring grade bands such as housing PreK–K at Miller (with a new addition to eliminate the module unit aka Trailer), Grades 1-3 at the new Craddock site, and Grades 4–5 at Leighton (eliminating the modular unit aka Trailer currently at Leighton) creates better developmental alignment for young learners while relieving crowding at Leighton and eliminating modular trailers. Bringing early elementary grades into a unified, modern facility enables reading specialists, speech therapists, and support staff to work side-by-side with classroom teachers without operating out of repurposed spaces.”
Overall, a student’s learning environment is a crucial part to their early education, so providing the right environment would benefit their educational path from the beginning. Over time, Aurora residents built and maintained the schools our current students use. While some residents had children in the district at the time; others did not. With that being said, this shared investment is just one reason communities can provide opportunities that individual families could never provide on their own.
Students’ academic achievement is impacted by the school’s facilities; therefore, the construction of a new elementary school will benefit many children and positively impact their educational paths from the very beginning. “Upgraded HVAC systems and acoustic wall treatments reduce background ambient noise, allowing young learners, particularly early readers, to hear phonic sounds and instructions clearly. Eliminating building disruptions (such as extreme classroom temperatures, water leaks, or noise from aging mechanical units) allows teachers and students to spend uninterrupted time on learning,” Hayes noted.
Furthermore, “Extensive educational research shows that indoor air quality, proper ventilation, consistent thermal regulation, and appropriate lighting directly influence student focus, attendance, and cognitive performance,” Hayes explained.
On another note, Hayes mentioned that “Upgraded filtration and HVAC systems reduce the spread of airborne illnesses, which can lower student and staff absenteeism-rates.”
A student’s health is key to their learning and social skills. Reflecting on the young students that attend Craddock, those with allergies, asthma, or weaker immune systems are more susceptible to missing out on vital days of learning because of the current HVAC systems. Improvement of HVAC systems and filtration will increase student and staff attendance which is essential in every aspect.
Dr. Milcetich expressed a notable question he wants each voting resident to ask themselves: “What happens if we do nothing?”
The approximate overall cost residents would have to pay for these improvements would roughly be $12 per month per $100,000 of appraised property value per the county auditors website. A decision residents need to make is which path they want to go down in the long run.
“The challenge is that those dollars have to come from somewhere. Many of the projects identified in The Essential Plan are larger than what our regular maintenance and Permanent Improvement budgets can reasonably absorb. Without additional capital funding, we would have to continually make decisions about which projects must be addressed immediately and which can be deferred,” Milcetich continued.
“That is one reason The Essential Plan includes approximately $23 million in capital improvements throughout the district. This is not simply about constructing a new school. It is also about protecting and extending the useful life of Miller, Leighton, Harmon and Aurora High School,” Milcetich said.
Milcetich continued, “Our goal is to make a long-term capital investment in the physical infrastructure while continuing to protect the people and programs that make Aurora successful. Buildings don't educate children - people do - but those people need safe, functional environments in which to do their work.”
The district leaders and stakeholders have spent an enormous amount of time mapping out how the funds will be used. Dr. Milcetich noted, “The district has developed project budgets for the individual components of The Essential Plan, and the work would continue through formal design, bidding, contracting and construction processes.We have also gone through extensive facility planning with our architects and through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission process. As projects move from conceptual planning into actual design, we would continually reconcile the design with the available project budget. That means evaluating costs throughout design rather than waiting until construction bids arrive to discover that a project is unaffordable. There will also be professional architects, engineers and construction professionals involved in the process, along with public Board oversight of contracts and expenditures. Our responsibility would be to construct the projects within the resources voters authorized, not simply increase the amount available whenever costs change.” The district is being responsible and transparent with each strategic and thoroughly planned out action they would make during this process. District leaders and participants who have contributed with the creation of this plan have deliberated and revamped The Essential Plan and the only thing left to do is make it a reality.
Though Aurora schools are used daily by students and staff, residents are also painted into the picture of those impacted by the building. “What we can say with confidence is that Aurora's schools are significant public assets used by thousands of students, employees, families and community members. Maintaining those assets protects investments the community has already made while ensuring they remain functional for future residents,” Dr. Milcetich said.
All things considered, The Essential Plan offers a strategic solution to our district’s primary issues. Dr. Milcetich points out that The Essential Plan is “the product of several years of data, professional analysis and community input - not a plan that was created in a few months.”
Although I am not yet able to vote, my parents are voting “Yes” on Issue #4. Delaying action deprives future Aurora students of the functional schools they deserve, while driving up long-term maintenance costs. Making the right decision for yourself with others in mind will shape a brighter future for Aurora. For the community members who can vote, please consider the type of students you want reflecting the town you live in. Since the Aurora City Schools has been given the top rating from the Ohio Department of Education (5 Stars) and ranks in the 95th percentile of academic achievement based on the state of Ohio's metrics, I encourage you, on Nov. 3, 2026 to make the choice that allows Aurora City Schools to continue forward in the right direction. Aurora students deserve to have a thriving Greenhouse that will create a lasting impact on them and our community.
For more information on Issue #4 please visit:
Essential Plan Facility-Planning Site
Road to November 2026 Bond Issue
Citizens Committee