The gavel came down on the side of Cardinal Schools June 9.
The gavel came down on the side of Cardinal Schools June 9.
The Cardinal Schools Board of Education wasted no time passing a resolution Monday to accept the bid by Ohman Family Living of $2.2 million for the Jordak Elementary School building and 5.5 acres in the center of Middlefield Village.
While the parcel was auctioned off by auctioneer Scott Mihalic in the school cafeteria June 7, he explained at the beginning of the auction he could not utter the word “sold” because the board of education needed to accept the bid in a meeting.
The revenue will keep Cardinal Schools a comfortable distance from the financial edge through 2029, according to figures presented in a letter to the board by Treasurer Terry Armstrong.
“What an amazing sale of the building/property,” he wrote. “Based on school building sales data in Northeast Ohio, we definitely over-performed.”
Cardinal Superintendent Jack Cunningham said in a phone interview June 10 he was surprised and pleased with OFL’s bid, which was higher than the other three bidders Saturday.
“Scott did a good job. It was a good decision by the board to hire him,” he said, explaining the money will go straight into the permanent improvement fund for the numerous renovation and update projects the board wants to carry out at the remaining school buildings.
“The sale allows us to do projects without using the general fund,” he said. “It makes us very solid. I’m pretty excited about the future. Cardinal forever!”
Armstrong’s letter to the board recommended the action it should take at the next meeting.
“First, we will want to have a resolution at the next meeting to rescind the recent transfers from the general fund to the capital improvement funds. This will enable us to move back to just under 40% carryover for (fiscal year) 25 and slightly over for FY26,” he wrote. “(That is) huge for our bond rating discussions, to say the least.”
By re-invigorating the general fund, the forecast for the next four years is more favorable than the figures Armstrong ran for the five-year forecast in May, he said, crediting Mihalic for his professionalism.
Mihalic attended the meeting to finalize paperwork.
Before the board voted, Joshua Wallace, of the OFL executive leadership team, addressed the school board, outlining some of the plans the organization has for the building.
“We’ve had our eye on this building for mixed-use residential services,” he said, noting OFL is building senior living units called The Cottages in the village. “We want to provide more housing for active aging adults over 55 and also provide some great services in the community.”
Seniors who visited The Cottages recently said they would like a community center, pickleball courts, a salon/spa and some place to eat, Wallace said, adding those items would benefit OFL and invite more economic development in the village.
The external structure of the school will remain and more buildings may be added, he said.
Mihalic also auctioned off contents of the building and the former bus garage before and after the real estate auction, yielding about an additional $23,000, he said at the meeting.
