FAIRBORN — The Fairborn City School District Board of Education approved two resolutions during the regular meeting Nov. 7 that are considered major steps forward in the process of constructing new school facilities.
The board of education approved a resolution for an option on property that could be the location of a new high school and/or middle school and/or performing arts/athletic complex. The property is located on Commerce Center Boulevard east of Interstate-675 and north of Dayton-Yellow Springs Road.
The property includes 86.077 acres of undeveloped land that is currently owned by Oberer Construction Managers, LTD. The option allows the district to purchase the property for the reduced price of $3.2 million total with the condition of passage of a bond issue in November 2020.
The option will be open until March 1, 2021.
In an independent appraisal obtained by the school district, the value of the property was appraised at $4.75 million total.
The Fairborn City School District Board of Education also approved a resolution for a partnership on school facilities through the OFCC (Ohio Facilities Construction Commission) Expedited Local Partnership (ELPP) which may provide additional state funding for the proposed new buildings.
“We are very excited to have the option on this property that would allow us to build an educational campus that could house a high school and middle school complex as well as a performing arts/athletic complex,” Fairborn City School District Superintendent Gene Lolli said. “With this campus environment, FCS can provide state of the art instructional opportunities for the students in Fairborn for many years to come.”
The district has held community listening sessions and will be surveying Fairborn citizens to find out what the community wants to see as the district moves forward.
“It is very important that we involve parents, staff members and community members as we move forward with this project,” Lolli said. “Input from the community will be critical as we work to continue to improve Fairborn City Schools.”
The survey will take place in March with Fallon and Associates working with the district.
“We want to continue to work with the Fairborn community and to provide the best education possible in an environment that the students and community can be proud of,” Lolli said.
The superintendent thanked George Oberer, Jr. and the team from Oberer Construction Managers, LTD. for the opportunity to purchase this property at a significantly reduced price which will save taxpayers money in the future.
The Fairborn City School District will open the new Fairborn Primary School (grades PreK-2) in August 2020.
District officials said in a press release that planning meetings are well underway for the new Fairborn Intermediate School and construction of that building will begin in summer 2020 with an opening slated for August 2022.
With the support of the Fairborn community, the school district is poised to continue progress to upgrade facilities. This past year, the district added curriculum to enhance educational options for students. The new curriculum includes art in the elementary schools, Spanish and logic/problem solving at Baker Middle School and American Sign Language and credit recovery at Fairborn High School.
“The district continues to enhance educational opportunities for our students and updated facilities are part of this very important process,” Fairborn City School District Board of Education President Andrew Wilson said.
The district shares photos and information on the FCS website at www.fairborn.k12.oh.us as well as the Fairborn City Schools on Facebook and Twitter pages.
