Fairborn City Schools Superintendent Gene Lolli announced the “unprecedented” donation before the board of education meeting on Thursday.
“In all my years of public education, I have never experienced such a gesture,” Lolli told this newspaper. “I’m kind of at a loss for words.”
Lolli said the former Fairborn Flyer has donated a total of $3.25 million to the school district.
The school district has put a bond levy on the Nov. 3 ballot to build a new high school. The district also plans to eventually build a new middle school.
The new high school would cost about $72 million to build, Lolli said. The millage for the bond issue would be 5.87. This would cost someone who owns a house valued at $120,000 an additional $17 per month or about an additional $200 a year.
The 86-acre site sits between Commerce Center Boulevard and Interstate 675, south of Garland Avenue. The land is currently owned by Oberer Realty Services, Lolli said.
This donor’s previous donation helped the school district accelerate its plan to go 1-to-1 technology. The district will be 1-to-1 starting this upcoming school year.
Lolli said he hopes the donation is the start of support for the bond levy.
“Everybody has been really excited about (the donation),” Lolli said. “We’re just ecstatic.”
Board president Pat McCoart was emotional during the ceremony.
“This district would be the showcase of the Miami Valley,” McCoart said.
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