ThisWeek CW 09/22/2011
Canal Winchester will provide sewer and water service to the Briar Patch Ranch for Kids if a final annexation plan is approved by the city and Madison Township.
City council approved a pre-annexation agreement on Sept. 6.
There currently isn’t a firm timeline to finalize the annexation because plans to deliver sewer and water services to the property have to be developed, according to Canal Winchester finance director Nanisa Osborn.
Ranch owners Howard (David) and Lavonne McIlrath want to annex 10 acres of their property to the city from Madison Township. The land at 7277 Lithopolis Road is a working farm that will be used as a part of the Briar Patch Ranch for Kids, a school that just started its first year serving at-risk children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
“The annexation is because of a need for sewer and water for the school buildings,” David McIlrath said. “Right now, we have two classroom modules and as soon as we complete the concrete pad for the new 10,000-square-foot school building, we’ll start that.”
McIlrath, besides being a lifelong farmer, earned a master’s degree in educational administration and has worked as a teacher and administrator for the past 30 years. The Briar Patch Ranch for Kids is being run as a charter school, according to McIlrath. School districts that contract with Briar Patch purchase an annual per-student seat for $16,500, he said.
“The school is designed to house 100 students. I contract with the local schools in central Ohio, and they send us any kids that need help, like those with ADD, ADHD or autism — the ones that are really struggling in the regular school environment,” McIlrath said. “We’ve got 35 students in contract so far this year; some districts are using us as an alternative to expulsion. My past experience with these programs is that they fill up by the end of October, as schools find their needs.”
The original funding for the school came from private bank loans and the McIlraths’ personal resources, he said.
“I know from experience, schools today are failing some kids. I used to run the Eagles Nest Ranch and Academy for at-risk kids; I love working with kids,” McIlrath said. “So this whole concept is that with the farm and animals, these students may, for the first time, respond to a natural love of the animals and learn to motivate themselves.”
Students will be taught science, math and agricultural skills using real-life examples, such as using ultrasound on the animals and growing crops from greenhouse to field, according to McIlrath.
“We have a 75-tree fruit orchard and we’re building a greenhouse as well as coordinating with The Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine to give kids a chance to learn with them,” McIlrath said. “The students will learn things by not just sitting at a desk. They’ll learn by seeing and doing, like
watching a calf born.”
Osborn said after annexation, the city anticipates it will receive revenue from school employees’ income taxes but, because the current agricultural use valuation (CAUV) exemption on the land will remain in place, property taxes will be negligible.
Mayor Michael Ebert is excited that Briar Patch Ranch for Kids will be a part of the community.
“I think there’s a need for the type of program he is offering,” Ebert said. “There are some kids that just don’t make it in everyday classrooms and I think it’s a great thing he’s doing.”