Elementary Facilities Updates

Moody's Investors Service has assigned the highest possible rating – Aaa – to the school improvement bonds Beachwood City Schools will sell to finance the construction of two new elementary school buildings and upgrades to the Fairmount Early Childhood Center. District voters authorized the sale of $65 million in municipal bonds to finance this important project in the May 2, 2023 special election.

Preliminary results show that voters in the Beachwood City School District approved a 3.95-mill bond issue to fund a $65 million construction project to build two new elementary schools, replacing the Bryden and Hilltop schools, and update the Fairmount Early Childhood Center. “With the approval of this bond issue, the Beachwood community is investing in education for its future generations. We will now be able to maintain our tradition of educational excellence and provide the inspiring, high-quality, and secure facilities our students and staff deserve,” said Dr. Robert P. Hardis, Superintendent. 

At the Jan. 23 Board of Education meeting, architects from ThenDesign Architecture and Project Management Consultants presented an overview of the elementary facilities master plan to construct two new elementary schools and perform updates to the Fairmount Early Childhood Learning Center. They detailed the preliminary design and construction schedule, student locations during construction, and the design phases. 

On January 10,  the Beachwood Board of Education unanimously passed the final resolution needed to seek a bond levy this spring for the construction of two new elementary schools – one at Bryden Elementary for grades Kindergarten through 2 and another at Hilltop Elementary for grades 3 through 5 – and updates to the Fairmount Early Childhood Center’s pre-kindergarten facilities.

The Beachwood Board of Education unanimously passed two resolutions needed to move the elementary facilities master plan forward at a special meeting on Thursday, December 15. A third vote is set to take place Tuesday, January 10. 

The Beachwood Board of Education has decided on a master plan to ensure the District’s aging elementary facilities are future ready. The plan preserves the District’s tradition of smaller schools in parklike settings within residential neighborhoods and retains the current grade configurations and traffic flows. The Board is expected to vote December 12 on two resolutions necessary to move the project forward.