Officials of a Price Hill charter school say representatives of a graphics firm protesting the school's location near it have made racially charged statements about the predominantly African-American school.

        The firm's representatives Friday denied the allegation and accused charter school officials of “raising a race issue.”

        Harlan Graphics Arts Services Inc. and Harmony Community School are both located in an industrial park in the 7000 block of Reading Road. They have been battling over the school's location, with Harlan representatives saying that the 500-student middle and high school shouldn't be there because it is not “incidental” to a church, as required for any school in a manufacturing zone.

        David Nordyke, founder of Harmony, said he believes several statements allegedly made by Harlan officials are racist in nature. He said company officials have referred to “those people” on several occasions when discussing the school. And, he said, Harlan representatives have said that the school's location will cause property values in the industrial park to decrease.

        Mr. Nordyke said he has contacted several civil rights organizations this week.

        “This is a recurring theme, enough to me ... that I want to know what's behind it,” he said.

        A hearing on the zoning issue is scheduled before Cincinnati's board of zoning appeals 9 a.m. Monday at City Hall.

        Matt Fellerhoff, an attorney for Harlan, said there is no race issue.

        “They tried to raise this in front of the board of zoning appeals and the board of zoning appeals would not allow them to raise this issue because this is a zoning issue,” he said.

        “They have created the farce of a public school incidental to a church in order to get around the clear requirements of a zoning code. Their raising of a race issue is merely an attempt at fabricating a diversion from the real issues.”

        The school opened in September after vacating its previous location at a Bond Hill shopping center. A science teacher, Rev. Steven Wheeler, rents part of the school facility to hold church services Sundays for a handful of people.

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