Board approves study by state group

A unanimous vote by the Fairport Harbor School Board March 27 means the state will now conduct a study to determine the district’s eligibility for new-campus funding, for which it could foot 85 percent of the bill.

Made available through the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program, the money — and the study — will be overseen by the Ohio School Facilities Commission.

After forming a committee to research its options, the district held a public meeting Feb. 2 to publicize the plan and seek feedback. Thirty-seven people attended, the board reports in its flier explaining the project.

At its K-12 Campus Committee meeting Feb. 2, Fairport School Board member Kathy Paolino explained the purpose of this newly established board committee.

The committee was launched to inform the community about the Classroom Facilities Assistance Program offered to the Fairport School District by the Ohio School Facilities Commission. In addition, the panel will seek to obtain input from the students, staff and community, that meeting’s minutes reflect.

None of the school board’s five members responded to an emailed

inquiry for comment March 29. However, Fairport Harbor Schools Superintendent Domenic Paolo confirmed the 5-0 vote on the measure in a phone interview later that day.

In an interview March 24 about the project in general, Paolo said it’s a no-brainer to proceed with the study.

“The study is free,” he

said. “And, if it gets approved, (the state) would pay for 85 percent of it. So it would be crazy not to do it.”

But, even with the board’s approval, no major developments are expected any time soon, Paolo said.

“It’s a long process,” he said, adding that, even if the study is completed by the end of this summer and its findings are presented to the community by November, it might be the fall of 2018 before any votes are cast.

“And that’s just an estimate,”

he said.

But if the study points in Fairport’s favor, it could be well worth the wait.

“The way the grant works is that they come through with an 85-percent match,” he said. “So, with every $150,000 the community inputs, we ‘re really getting $1 million in purchasing power.”

He said Fairport is a good candidate for the funding because the district’s enrollment has grown so much over the last three years.