Master Facilities Plan

Fiscally-Responsible, Community-Sourced Planning

Beginning in the late 1990's, the district saw a decade of explosive growth - averaging over 600 new students a year.  District leaders sought community input through focus groups and surveys and listened to residents' preference that the 25 square-mile district would continue to have one uniting high school for all the district's 9-12th graders.

The flagship of the district, the new William Mason High School ultimately became a centerpiece for the community.  A first-of-its kind partnership in Ohio, the Mason High School/City of Mason Community Center collaboration realized many benefits for the community - including saving approximately $12 million compared to building the high school and community center separately.  The City provided the land and the school district paid for the construction of the facility.  There are many areas within the facility that are designed for shared use by Mason City Schools students and residents.

In 2001, the Board of Education joined the Ohio School Facilities Commission's Expedited Local Partnership Program, which was funded by Ohio's tobacco settlement.  That decision ensured that every facility construction project that the district undertook qualified for a 25% match in funding from the commission.  In December 2013, the district learned that Mason was eligible to receive approximately $34 million from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission for future facility projects because of the construction and renovation projects the district had undertook as it built schools and additions "just in time" to accommodate the growing number of families choosing Mason as their home.