School district will not take Pipe Yard

Lorain City Schools will not take possession of the Pipe Yard baseball stadium.

Lorain City Schools will not take possession of the Pipe Yard baseball stadium.

Meanwhile, Lorain Schools’ chief executive officer said he is continuing informal conversations about district leadership for the 2018-19 school year.

In October, Lorain City Council approved the transfer of P.C. Campana Park, with the Pipe Yard baseball stadium, 2840 Meister Road, to the Lorain City School Board.

However, the school district will not take on that project now, said Lorain Schools Chief Executive Officer David Hardy Jr.

Hardy notified Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer in an email Dec. 18.

“We really appreciate his generosity and his vision,” Hardy said. “However, it wasn’t going to work with what we’re trying to do and what we’re pushing on right now.”

There were a number of factors in making the decision, he said.

One of the main factors is the plan to demolish the former Southview High School and use that space for athletic and recreational facilities, Hardy said.

“I actually think what we’re going to use the Pipe Yard for, we’ll be able to make that happen at Southview,” Hardy said. “We have the property, why kind of bring all that new on?”

Hardy announced the plan to demolish Southview High School, 2270 E. 42nd St., in a Dec. 14 town hall meeting with residents and school district staff.

No plans are final for the Southview building space, he said.

Hardy noted Lorain City Councilman Angel Arroyo Jr. used the social media platform Twitter to voice his response and ask for community involvement.

As a 2002 alumnus, “it would be tough to see” the high school torn down, Arroyo said.

“I also hate to see it there deteriorating,” he said via Twitter. “This is your chance to speak up & say what you would like to see happen. What do you want to see?”

Arroyo advised people to show up at the next meeting and let Hardy know.

As for the Pipe Yard, the 1,300-seat facility formally is named The Pipe Yard Stadium Powered by FirstEnergy Solutions.

The 66.2-acre park is the home field of the Lorain County Ironmen baseball team and Lorain Youth Baseball, which plays on 11 ball diamonds also at the park.

The school district had agreed to work with the city and tenants to make the ball field available for youth oriented activities “in a manner that is reasonable and consistent” with school district policies and procedures, according to the transfer agreement approved by City Council.

Meanwhile, Hardy said he has not selected the candidates to fill seven “chief” positions to lead the district.

He acknowledged there are continuing conversations about who will be in leadership positions, including principal posts, for the 2018-19 school year.

For the Lorain Promise turnaround plan, Hardy said he will re-evaluate who will lead the school buildings.

“It’s really a call to folks to say, I want to be a part of this new frontier and this push to make sure that are schools are the best possible,” Hardy said.

He said he will not take jobs of sitting principals or assistant principals when they return from winter break in January 2018.

“But as I look at 18-19, there are things I have to consider and I have to make sure that we’re doing the right thing for our kids and prioritizing what we know is necessary for us to make improvements for our kids and for the city,” Hardy said.