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Austintown resolves lawsuit by splitting profits
AUSTINTOWN
Austintown schools reached a financial agreement after two years of litigation with the heirs of John H. Fitch over the former Austintown Middle School property.
The heirs claimed the former school property on Mahoning Avenue belonged to them based on language in the original 1915 deed.
The Fitch heirs wanted a portion of any proceeds the school district received from the sale of the property to Meijer Grocers.
According to a news release about the agreement, Austintown schools will receive 61 percent of the proceeds, and the heirs will receive 39 percent.
Once Meijer finalizes the sale, the money will be available to the district and the heirs.
The district is still negotiating with Meijer representatives on the final sale price.
In other business, schools Superintendent Vince Colaluca said the Fitch High School gymnasium floor is beyond repair, and he is working with the insurance company to determine demolition and replacement costs.
The floor was damaged last week after thousands of gallons of water covered it when a water pipe burst.
“Right now we are getting a company to come check for asbestos, which can take at least a week,” Colaluca said. “Then, we will start demolition.”
He said the cost of the damage has yet to be determined, but it will be high.
“That’s why we have a capital-improvement fund and reserve dollars in the capital-improvement fund,” Colaluca said, adding such a fund is necessary for a large school district because “when something breaks, it doesn’t cost $5,000 or $10,000, it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The fund is dedicated to large purchases and replacements for permanent fixtures for Austintown schools, he said. Proceeds from the sale of the old middle school will go into that fund.