It was a heated night at the Northwestern School District meeting, where locals pushed back against a proposed project that could cost between $8 and $12 million to renovate the track and football field.

"The project and the extent of the tax increase are what we're really concerned about, and it's going to affect our population here quite immensely," Brian English says.

Northwestern School District Superintendent Greg Lehman shared that no decisions have been made yet and they are still exploring every possibility. "We're looking at a lot of options. We're not there yet. We don't have any final numbers. We're continuing to do the best we can with the dollars we have to spend."

With no solid numbers on the table, frustration filled the room. Community members from Albion, Cranesville, and Springfield voiced their concerns. Among them was Joe Yuhaschek, who believes this decision will impact the community, and therefore, the community should have a say in where the money is spent.

"They're looking for schoolteachers; let's give them a pay raise. Let's focus on education for kids. Let's put in a tech center. Let's get these kids smarter so they can have a future when they graduate," Joe Yuhaschek says.

Superintendent Lehman assured the community that the school will keep them updated on every decision regarding the topic. "We're being as transparent as we can. We want to make sure that we're not hiding anything. We're not building a stadium in the dark of night."