Change is the word for Youngstown City Schools this year.  Starting with the opening of two brand new elementary buildings to include Paul C. Bunn on the south side, and Martin Luther King Jr. where North Elementary used to sit on Mariner Avenue.  All part of a fourteen school, one hundred ninety million dollar rebuilding program.

"These buildings are right around an eight million dollar project, and as you can see everything's turning out beautiful here and we're very excited about opening these buildings.", says Tony DeNiro, Assistant Superintendent of School Business Affairs.

But it's much more than just new buildings, administrators also hope to see a change in students attitude and behavior this school year.  Students and parents will be asked to sign a behavior contract that clearly spells out the policies for after school and extracurricular events, and the penalties for those who choose to break the rules.

"When school is over and they're at a game, or they're at an extracurricular activity, that is still a school function, and the expected behavior is there, so that is the real purpose of it.", says Dr. Wendy Webb, Superintendent of Schools.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same. The district is once again going to the voters in November to ask them to approve a nine point five mill, four year tax levy.

"The money that was funded for these buildings has nothing to do with the operation of these schools. These are new schools that we partnered with the Ohio School Facility Commission which provided eighty percent of the cost for these buildings", says DeNiro.

Construction crews are still working hard, but Webb says both buildings will be ready for students on the first day of school on September third.