“The donation from Mr. Helms has been instrumental in the continued progress of the construction of the new high school and athletic facilities,” the district said in an announcement.
Helms, now 74, was senior class president, a member of National Honor Society, and a three-year member of the football team, the district said.
As a senior, Helms was a team captain, an offensive back and All-Western Ohio League before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees and spending nearly 30 years with the CIA, according to the district.
After retiring from the CIA, Helms founded the Abraxas Corp. in in McLean, Virginia after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. It was sold 10 years later but retained 145 engineers and product development lines going back years, records show.
He also is the founder and chief executive of the Ntrepid Corp., according to the company’s website.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Helms donated of $750,000 for computer technology, allowing the school district to provide all students with one-to-one technology, which was “critical to student education” when students were home learning online, officials said.
A year later, he gave a $253,000 match to the turf committee for the new stadium.
Helms studied international relations, economic development policy and national security policy, and served in the Naval Reserve.
With the CIA, he worked internationally, serving in the Middle East, and as station chief in Latin America, Asia and Europe, according to Fairborn officials.
The new high school — once estimated to cost $70 million — is now projected at $82 million due to inflation, officials have said.
In May, Fairborn school district voters approved a 1.7-mill bond issue for more funds for the new high school. Passage would restore projects – including softball fields, baseball fields and tennis courts - that were cut due to rising costs.
The new high school is scheduled to open in August 2024, according to the district.
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