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City district leases P. Ross Berry
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
The Mahoning County Educational Service Center will lease the first floor of the shuttered P. Ross Berry Middle School to house three alternative school programs that include city school students.
The city school board approved the agreement at a regular meeting Tuesday, allowing the service center to use the East Side building, which was closed this year as part of a district restructuring, to house the Positive Attitude and Commitment to Education, University Project Learning Center and Mahoning County High School programs. Those programs are being housed at the former Sheridan School building but Ron Iarussi, MCESC superintendent, said before Tuesday’s meeting that it’s nearing capacity.
“With the three programs at Sheridan, we have about 220 to 230 kids there,” he said. “It’s not at capacity, but we were afraid it was getting close. The capacity is probably 250 to 275.”
The 3.5-year lease begins Jan. 1 and is renewable for two successive one-year terms.
Harry Evans, the district’s chief of operations, said the city district will continue to operate the building’s kitchen, serving 300 lunches per day that MCESC will pay for at a rate of $2.50 per meal.
In lieu of rent, MCESC will waive administrative fees that would be charged to the district for providing educational services to the district. The district will pay the county agency 5 percent less per student than other school districts pay for similar services.
The city district will pay $79 per day per student for services provided to MCESC for students attending the PACE, UPLC or Mahoning County High School programs.
Evans estimated that 70 percent of the students in the programs are city school students.
MCESC also will pay for utilities under the lease.