LEETONIA Officials set open house for building

School officials want district residents to see what they're paying for.
LEETONIA -- The doors of the new school for kindergarten through 12th grade will open Aug. 17.
Schools Superintendent Thomas Inchak said the open house from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. will be informal -- "no ribbon cutting, no hoopla."
Inchak said after the open house, Artie Altomare, varsity football head coach, will introduce the 2002 team.
Although pupils and staff will vacate the junior-senior high, the football stadium and locker rooms will still be used this year, Inchak noted.
The $17 million school on Walnut Street on the north side of the village replaces the junior senior high, Washingtonville Elementary and Orchard Hill Elementary.
Orchard Hill was demolished to make room for parking for the new school. The school board has yet to decide the fate of the other two buildings.
Thanks to community
Inchak said the purpose of the open house is to show that school officials appreciate the support the community has shown for the school district, and for the new school project in particular.
Voters approved a request from school officials in 1998 to borrow $1.6 million through the sale of bonds. The remainder is from the Ohio School Facilities Commission's state building assistance fund.
"We want the people to have the chance to see what they're paying for," Inchak said.
The building will house all the district's nearly 900 pupils.