FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP — On one side of a long hallway at the D. RusselLee Career-Technology Center sits an industrial maintenance lab, complete with an electric-motor work station, machine-welding dock and equipment worth $127,000.

        Nearby sits a modern, up-to-date science laboratory/classroom where either chemistry or physics can be taught.

        Both are part of a 58,000-square-foot expansion of the vocational school and reflect the school's dual mission: prepare students for the work force and prepare them for higher education, whether at a two-year or four-year institution.

Unmatched in Ohio

               “There's not a vocational school in the state that can touch our facility or our program,” said Joseph Lupo, superintendent of the Butler County Joint Vocational School District, which serves adults and teen-agers in nine of the county's 10 school districts.

        “Our academic delivery is geared so that our students can take whatever they need: math, science, English, physics, chemistry and calculus. We ... meet requirements for college.”

Four-phase expansion

        The new addition is part of a four-phase expansion/renovation of the school that began in 1997 and will conclude this summer.

IF YOU GO

• What: An open house at Russel Lee Career-Technology Center.   • When: 2-4 p.m. Sunday.   • Where: 3603 Hamilton-Middletown Road.

        When completed, the school will have had its guts torn out and rebuilt with new floor and ceiling tiles, plumbing, electrical work, renovations and upgrades.

        An auditorium is equipped so that it can host full theatrical productions — or trade shows and conferences with multimedia presentations.

        A nursing-program classroom contains a nurse station along with several, curtained off bays with hospital beds and associated equipment found in a hospital.

        Even the local ham radio operators have a separate entrance with restrooms, a radio room and classroom. Separate carrels in a large room provide teacher office space.

        The school also offers a 48-station computer lab, firearms simulators, a media center, public safety wing, a forensic science lab, skid car and physical fitness equipment and showers for police and new furniture throughout.

        “It was costly and we had a lot of frustration getting here,” Mr. Lupo said of delays that put the addition almost a full year behind schedule. But ultimately this is what the community needs. We tried to develop a place where adults could feel good about coming. Something that resembles a college campus.”

Adjacent property

        The school board also purchased a 7.6-acre adjacent piece of land for future expansion, said Jason Champagne, marketing coordinator.

        Altogether, the four phases of the project will cost about $9.5 million, said Wayne Bethel, treasurer.

        A combination of an interest-free state loan, school improvement bonds and general fund dollars are being used to pay for the project.

        Mr. Bethel has structured the finance package so that all work will be paid off in about three years.

        No tax increase was necessary, Mr. Bethel said.
       

Priest admits sex with boys
Pick a color for Suspension Bridge
Robber's warning unheeded
As mold grows, so do health worries
Mastering mold: how to get control
Answers about mold
Health in jeopardy at creek, state says
7-year-old's car wash helps neighbors
Got a goetta itch? Goettafest helps
Porkopolis party-goers queue up for BBQ
Secret degree shocks family
Theme parks expect many visitors
BRONSON: Fill in the stupid blank
CROWLEY: Unity event excuse for potshots
'Deadbeat' list yields 24 arrests in the first week
Graham's Gospel bridges generations
Many schools, one problem
Stroke treatment shows promise
XU panel: Trade vs. human rights
High school minorities get college credit
Local Digest
New era for career center
Tristate's priciest homes
Congrats
Dumpster divers digging in
Kids cautioned about railroad tracks
Ohio city deploys fish in war on mosquitoes
Court topples topless ban
Group seeks list of donors
Ind. day-care licenses pulled
Indiana must give aid to disabled
Jockeys' Guild fires staff amid insurance woes