BOND ISSUE PROMOTED — Toronto school board members and staff listened as city firefighter Ryan Boyd discussed a bond issue supporting the purchase of two new fire trucks that will appear on ballots in the May 6 election during the board’s meeting Thursday. -- Warren Scott

TORONTO — The Toronto Board of Education Thursday learned about a bond issue supporting the purchase of two new fire trucks that will be decided by voters on May 6.

Capt. Ryan Boyd of the Toronto Fire Department told school board members and staff both a fire engine and ladder truck used by the department are at the end of their recommended lifespans, with the engine undergoing 28 safety-related repairs last year.

Boyd added it’s become difficult to find replacement parts for them.

“We’re just at the road where we have to replace them,” he said.

Boyd noted Toronto Council has agreed to place on ballots a 10-year bond issue expected to raise $3.5 million dollars for the two vehicles.

To repay bonds sold for the trucks, a tax will be collected for property owned in the city, with owners of homes appraised by the county assessor’s office at $125,000 paying $210.39 per year.

Boyd said even with the bond issue’s passage, the city’s property tax is among the lowest for the county’s municipalities.

He was joined by Tim Starr, a member of a citizens committee formed to help promote the bond issue.

Starr said he experienced a devastating fire 10 years ago and is thankful for the local fire department’s efforts.

He said the department’s response time and success rate have earned it a high rating that has resulted in lower costs for homeowners insurance for residents.

Starr said access to adequate equipment also is a factor in such ratings.

Boyd was asked if the Toronto department may use vehicles belonging to the Knox Township Fire Department, with which it merged in 2023.

He said the Toronto department may borrow Knox Township vehicles when needed, but the agreement for the merger calls for funds and equipment belonging to each of the two departments to remain with them.

In other business, the board approved the installation of two gates and chain link fence around the bullpen of the high school’s softball field at Michael Simpson Park by Kaibo Ventures at a cost of $6,145.

Superintendent Maureen Taggart said the field’s new artificial turf has been completed in time for the spring softball season.

Field Turf of Calhoun, Ga., was hired to install the turf for that field and the multipurpose field on the embankment across the parking lot from Toronto Junior-Senior High School, for which prep work has begun.

The two fields have a combined cost of $1.2 million.

Taggart said other work at the park has included new mulch and a sturdy plastic border for its playground and new gravel for its parking lot, with new picnic tables to be added to its shelter.

The board also approved $6,500 in upgrades to hardware, software and wiring for the junior-senior high school’s elevator, which was part of the building when it was constructed 11 years ago.

The board also adopted new policies allowing students to be released during the school day for religious instruction, if they choose, and ensuring parents are notified if classroom instruction will include topics of a sexual nature, so they may opt out, and if their children could receive medical treatment or counseling through the school’s health center and social worker.

The new policies were directed by Ohio House Bill 8, also known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which was signed into law on Jan. 8.

Taggart said the health center and social worker always have contacted parents about students’ treatment.