Moment in Time (originally submitted to ThisWeek News for publication December 30, 2015)

In 1924, a levy was placed on the ballot in Grandview to build a new elementary school to accommodate the growing number of children in homes on the east side of the city. The proposed $175,000 levy was defeated in the November elections, and the district was forced to go to half-day sessions in grades one to three. The issue was again placed on the ballot in November of 1925, and it passed. It provided $140,000 for construction of the new school and funds that were used to purchase the property that would be used to build the high school stadium. This photo shows the building near the end of the construction in 1926. The project was done by the Elford Company, overseen by Harold “Fat” Elford, who had previously served as the mayor of Upper Arlington. The delay caused by the failure of the levy in 1924 actually proved beneficial. The number of rooms was increased from the eight specified in the original plan to twelve because of additional need, but the cost for a building went down by $8000 because of timing of the bids. The design was also modified to allow for expansion of an additional four rooms on each end of the building.