The state Tuesday approved $205 million in spending for Cincinnati's nearly $1 billion school construction project.

        That award is part of a record $6 billion approval of school construction funding in Ohio, including $5.7 billion for the state's six largest districts and $265 million for 10 other districts. Cincinnati's share will be used to build 35 new schools and renovate 31 more in the next decade.

        “It is certainly a milestone for us in our more than 10-year quest to get our buildings updated and to a condition of quality that our students deserve,” said Jan Leslie, spokeswoman for Cincinnati Public Schools.

        But for Cincinnati to receive the full $205 million from the state, the district must raise the rest for the $985 million four-phase construction plan.

        The local share for each phase must be secured before the state releases funding for that phase. Cincinnati will pay about 80 percent of the project, while the state shoulders about 20 percent.

        District officials say they already have identified nearly $300 million for the plan.

        Board of education members have agreed to redirect payments they were using for a loan, which has since been paid off, to back the sale of bonds. They'll also use money the city and Hamilton County will pay the district in place of property-tax revenue on Paul Brown Stadium and the new Great American Ball Park, said Kent Cashell, the district's chief operating officer.

        The district has launched the first phase of the plan, which includes 15 new schools and renovating two. The state will help finance that phase because the district has the local revenue share.

        The district will have to ask voters to pass a bond issue for about $480 million to pay for the project's three remaining phases. That could happen as early as November.

        Cincinnatians will get their first glimpse of the unprecedented school construction project late summer or early fall when the now-closed Condon School in Avondale is demolished, Mr. Cashell said. A new Rockdale Academy will be built at the site.

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