By Maggie Downs
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Public Schools' construction program would generate $2.35 billion in local economic impact, according to a study released Thursday by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors.

"That's 'billion' with a 'b,' " said Michael Fisher, chamber president..

According to the study by the Economics Center for Education and Research at the University of Cincinnati, the project would also create more than 2,300 jobs.

The Cincinnati Public Schools' Facilities Master Plan calls for construction of 35 schools and the renovation of 31 others over the next 10 years.

The total cost of the construction program would be $985 million. On May 6, Cincinnatians will vote on the 4.61-mill, 28-year bond issue that would fund $480 million of that total. The state would contribute $210 million in matching funds. There would also be contributions from the city and Hamilton County, and the school district has some startup funds on hand.

Last November, the bond issue was narrowly defeated. It lost by 611 votes out of more than 90,000 ballots cast.

The total local cost of the project would be about $774 million, though $718 million of that would be returned in household wages and salaries for the area, the study shows.

Basically, for every $100 in local funding, the study said, $93 would be returned to the area.

What it would mean, according to the study, is an average annual impact of $232 million in the city over the next 10 years. That includes purchases of local resources (labor, goods and services) for actual construction, purchases of local resources made by local businesses to produce goods needed by CPS, and local spending of the employees of the construction firms and their suppliers.

"This 10-year project will have a tremendous impact on the educational system and on the economics of this city and this region," said Alton Frailey, CPS superintendent.

The school bond issue would raise taxes by $135 annually on a house valued at $100,000.

E-mail mdowns@enquirer.com