FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — Plans to keep a new Bishop Fenwick High School within the City of Middletown, the school's host for nearly 50 years, have hit a roadblock.

        Tuesday, Warren County commissioners unanimously turned down an annexation request that would have expanded Middletown 97 acres further into Warren County.

        Two-thirds of the site, along Ohio 122 about 1.3 miles east of Interstate 75, is being donated to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by Fifth Duet, a corporation owned by Fenwick alumnus Bill Akers and wife Debbie.

        “We're not pleased with the decision,” said the Rev. Charles “Chuck” Mentrup, Fenwick's principal. “I don't feel they made a decision based on law.”

        The commissioners, however, said the annexation was not in the best interest of the site because Franklin Township's EMS and fire crews are based closer than Middletown's.

        “I hope the school's hierarchy will have the common courtesy ... not to appeal this thing,” Commission President Mike Kilburn said.

        The ruling follows two public hearings in which 200-plus Franklin Township residents turned out to oppose not the school, but Middletown annexing further into their community. Residents also were suspicious of what the other 30 acres will be used for, although Mr. Akers said no decisions have been made.

        Fenwick High School will be built on the land even if it is not annexed into Middletown, said Dan Andriacco,spokesman for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

        “Unfortunately, this is going to cause a delay, which will increase costs,” Mr. Andriacco said of the $12 million project. “We will still build on the site. This has never been an issue of stopping construction of the school. We can build a school on the site under zoning laws if it remains in Franklin Township.”

        No decision has been made yet on whether to appeal the commissioners' decision, said attorney Catherine Cunningham, who represents the Akerses. Property owners have a month to appeal to Warren County Common Pleas Court.

        Middletown has a long history of serving Fenwick well, while school officials have no firsthand experience with Franklin Township, Father Mentrup said.

        The $12 million Fenwick project includes construction of a 75,000- to 90,000-square-foot high school for 600 students. There are now 405 students enrolled in grades 9-12, up 62 percent from 1987's enrollment of 250. Students come from 12 feeder parishes in Butler, Warren and Montgomery counties.

        When the school is completed in three years, children in grades kindergarten through five will move from the east campus of John XXIII Consolidated School to Fenwick, which now houses the school's sixth- through eighth-grade students. The archdiocese is looking for a buyer for John XXIII's 10.9-acre east campus on Central Avenue. Proceeds from the sale would be used to renovate Fenwick for the younger children.

       Enquirer reporter Cindi Andrews contributed to this report.

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