COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — All four central Ohio school bond issues failed at the ballot, leaving school districts to find creative solutions to address growing enrollment.

Groveport Madison, Teays Valley, Jonathan Alder and Southwest Licking school districts each asked for taxpayer support this May election to fund facility expansions, but all four measures failed. Each of the districts is anticipating increased enrollment in the next 10 years and said its current buildings are insufficient. District representatives said they respect voters’ decisions, but still need to address enrollment concerns and are now searching for solutions.

“There’s definitely frustration and concern from those who wanted this,” Groveport Madison Superintendent Jamie Grube said. “Many of our students and staff face the challenges of overcrowded, aging buildings every day, and parents understand how that impacts learning.”

All four districts had planned to use the funds to expand facilities due to increasing enrollment. Grube said she was disappointed to see it fail, knowing district buildings are overcrowded even before the projected 10% enrollment increase.

“Many people spent time engaging with our community, staff and families to develop a plan that we believed would address aging infrastructure and safety concerns in our schools,” Grube said. “It’s tough to see that vision not move forward, especially knowing how urgently our students and staff need updated, adequate learning spaces.”

Grube’s disappointment was echoed by all three other districts, which are each seeing a larger relative increase than Groveport Madison. Teays Valley anticipates the largest percentage share increase, anticipating 22.6% more students, and Superintendent Kyle Wolfe said many district buildings are already at capacity.

Wolfe and Teays Valley had hoped to use the money to build two new intermediate schools. Without those funds, Wolfe said, students will be redistricted for the upcoming school year to balance class sizes. Wolfe said district leadership will meet in the coming weeks to determine the next steps.

“While this adjustment will offer some immediate relief, it is only a temporary solution, as many of our buildings are still operating near capacity,” Wolfe said.

The district is also considering adding modular classrooms for the 2025-2026 school year, although Teays Valley has already spent $650,000 on overflow classrooms. According to the district website, administrators estimate overflow classrooms could cost more than $20 million in the next 10 years.

Jonathan Alder Superintendent James Miller said his district is also working to find temporary classroom spaces, anticipating a 16.7% increase in enrollment. Miller is preparing to discuss next steps with the board of education, but is already considering modular classrooms without funding for permanent solutions.

“Community growth and rising student enrollment continue to outpace the district’s current building capacity,” Miller said. “As we approach enrollment limits in several of our schools, we remain committed to using taxpayer resources responsibly while ensuring that students have safe, supportive learning environments.”

Southwest Licking district representatives said it’s likely the district will return to the ballot. The three other districts also did not rule out the possibility. Groveport Madison said it will look elsewhere for now but may need to request community funds again. With the request that failed on May 6, the community would have only had to cover 47% of costs, but Grube warned that any projects done without state support will cost much more. See previous coverage of Southwest Licking in the video player above.

“In the short term, we’ll continue doing everything we can to support student learning in the buildings we have,” Grube said. “Longer-term, we need to reengage with our community to understand where we go from here. The facility and space challenges haven’t gone away, and neither has our commitment to addressing them.”

Grube said that, for the time being, the district is investigating all options, including facility improvements and portable classrooms.