More school district options needed (Hamilton, Warren: foreclosed, houses, school districts)

[Growing2Boys]

Hi everyone,
Well I thought I had narrowed my school district search down to Wymoming & Sycamore for our pending move. The problem is there isn't a single home on the market right now that fits my picky husband's needs (he want's an oversized 3 car garage-4-5bdrm no more then $430K) He has 2 hobby cars & I park in the driveway! LOL

Does anyone have any personal experience with the Kings District & Lakota?
I don't want to go into a huge district like Mason as my oldest has autism & is mainstreamed, but I need at least 2 more districts to put on my list so we can find a house.

I know Mariemont, Madiera, Oak Hill are all also suggested, but once again.....no houses in those areas for us either.

Wyoming & Sycamore are still top on the list & hopefully some more inventory will come on market soon, but I need backups

Thanks!!!

[kjbrill]

When you narrow your criteria too fine, this is what you get. Take a look at Kings or Loveland. They both are decent and should have houses in your criteria.

[unusualfire]

Might as well find a custom builder. Im sure you can find some open lots in those area's. Checkout foreclosed homes as well.

[Sarah Perry]

My first thought was see if you can find a place where the zoning would allow you to construct an additional freestanding garage.

[Bhiggins]

If you are avoiding huge school districts scratch Oak Hills off while you're at it.

[Growing2Boys]

Does anyone have kids in Kings? I plan on touring the school, but it's always nice to hear from a parent in the thick of it all.

How is the area in the Kings district? We are seeing great houses in South Lebanon, but when I google map it the biggest feature there seems to be a giant trailer park. It seems very rural with few homes. I don't want to live isolated. I've done that before & I hated it.

Thanks!!!!!!!

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Growing2Boys

Does anyone have kids in Kings? I plan on touring the school, but it's always nice to hear from a parent in the thick of it all.

How is the area in the Kings district? We are seeing great houses in South Lebanon, but when I google map it the biggest feature there seems to be a giant trailer park. It seems very rural with few homes. I don't want to live isolated. I've done that before & I hated it.

Thanks!!!!!!!

For years South Lebanon had the reputation as sort of a shanty town. This is being overturned quite a bit due to some high level development nearby in recent years, but as you see vestiges of it still exist.

If you want to avoid large school districts stay away from Lakota. I was just reading in another source this morning concerning cuts and reorganization of their 14 K-6 elementary schools for next year to meet budget shortfalls.

Portions of Loveland are very rural while portions are not. You might find a home there with a pole building which could house your husband's hobby.

[kjbrill]

I did a quick realty search in Loveland and spotted a 9 room full brick 2-story, 5 bedrooms on 2nd floor and large family room on 1st with kitchen, dining and I forgot what else (not living room). It is 7 years old and priced below your desired limit at $405K. It has an unfinished basement with a walkout to the rear and what appears to be a 3-car detached (referenced as a carriage style) garage. Nice looking house from the pictures with some good architectural features. Lot is only 0.4 acre but you can't have everything.

BTW Loveland is in 3 counties (Warren, Hamilton, and Clermont) so the realty sites sometimes require you to search them separately.

[Growing2Boys]

Thank you for the additional info. I scratched Loveland off the list (even though it seems we can get a lot of house in Loveland/ Milford) because they seperate the grades so much into different buildings. My oldest son may never be able to ride the bus, so that would mean I'd need to be at 2 different schools at the exact same time for drop off/pick up each day. They are ages 5 & 7 at the moment.

I'm trying to find a school that has an old fashioned elementary style of K-6, so both my boys can be in the same school at least until 6th grade.

We have thought about adding on to the garage or building another, but it seems that is going to put Wyoming of our list because those houses are already at the top of our budget. I guess it's like an Indian Hill situation were people are over paying for the school district?

I will check out Kings. I am going up to look at schools next week. I'm just a bit worried because I haven't heard any feedback on Kings having good services for special needs kids like Sycamore.

Thanks!

[kjbrill]

While I understand Kings is a good district, I don't think it is in the league of Sycamore. I know some younger people I used to work with whose children go to Kings and they are enhusiastic about the schools. But I don't believe they have any special needs.

That setup of using separate buildings for individual grades I believe is becoming quite common. I know Mason has 6 buildings, 2 of which are just 2nd and 3rd grade. These are two of the older buildings and the board just voted to close one of them next year. They decided the student population has leveled off and they could save money by closing one of the older elementaries. So beginning next year, the Early Childhood Center, one of the newer schools, will house kindergarden, first grade and part of second grade. The other older elementary will have the remainder of second grade and all of third grade. What is called the intermediate school, which is relatively new, will have all of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. The middle school, which is the former high school will be seventh and eight. The high school, which is also quite new, will house ninth through twelfth. Yes, these are large schools, as the student population in any one grade is close to 1,000.

You are trying to balance the needs of your child with a specific desire for a home. These things can fight each other. Try some of the older sections of Madeira in the Kenwood area, where the lot sizes and the zoning regulations could permit you erecting a separate detached garage for your husband's hobby. To my knowledge they still operate a K-6 type of elementary environment as the district is relatively small and has not had the pressure of population growth for many years.