COLUMBUS — The director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission used an administrative procedure usually reserved for minor changes to construction projects to approve adding an entire building to a project.

        Critics said the move by Randall Fischer was illegal. Mr. Fischer also has drawn criticism for approving nearly $2 billion worth of projects without a vote of the facilities commission.

        “They cut a corner for convenience. It was wrong and absolutely illegal,” said Luther L. Liggett, a lawyer with Bricker & Eckler in Columbus who represents the National Electrical Contractors Association.

        Mr. Fischer declined to comment on the $1 million change order he approved for a project that included a new building in the Adena school district near Chillicothe, 40 miles south of Columbus.

        Joe Case, spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery, said the office is looking into the matter and had no further comment.

        When Ohio started a massive construction program to renovate and replace dilapidated schools five years ago, Adena was the first to receive a new building.

        The state picked up 88 percent of the $24 million price tag for a school to house 1,300 kindergarten through 12th- grade students and replace several smaller coal-heated buildings dating to 1912. Halfway through the project Mr. Fischer approved the change order to pay for a new agriculture-education building and cost overruns on the original project.

        A change order authorizes a deviation from a construction project specification, usually something like adding a window or moving a door.

        Mr. Fischer gave the work to the company already building the main school.

        Contractors who would have liked to bid on the work say he was trying to avoid state requirements to award projects to the lowest responsible bidder.

        “There was no reason why this could not have been competitively bid, and it should have been competitively bid — not only to abide by the law, but to assure that the taxpayers got the lowest price,” Mr. Liggett said.

        Commission spokesman Rick Savors said the price paid for the building was fair, and lawyers could argue either way about whether the contract should have been bid competitively.

        “Basically, this was a really unique situation that the project team was looking at,” he said. “They moved ahead in deference to the school district that needed to get this building built and open.”

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