GENEVA – The Geneva Area City School Board heard about a planned new use for the district’s “house on the hill” at its Dec. 17th meeting.
District Superintendent Dr. Paul Lombardo outlined a community resource center project for the property that would meet medical needs in the community. The house is located on the hill above the high school.
As part of the project, Lombardo recommended the board approve an agreement between Anchor Point Strategies, LLC and the school board. The agenda item was approved at the meeting.
He said the company is going to first do a needs assessment to see what the community’s needs are.
“And based on the needs of the community, we will provide medical and social emotional needs to all community, students, staff and their families,” he said.
Lombardo said the company has done this before in other districts, noting that it’s been “very, very successful.”
Lombardo noted that Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA) funds would be used from General Fund. These are funds that must be used for certain programs related to this initiative, he said.
District Treasurer Shelley McDermott spoke about the DPIA funds.
“When we get funds from the State of Ohio, there are restricted funds and unrestricted funds,” she said, noting there are five different categories of restricted funds and DPIA is one of them. “They do tell us what kind of items we can spend that money for.”
If the district doesn’t spend the money, it has to give it back for the restricted funds, she said.
“So, this is definitely a wonderful thing that Dr. Lombardo has found to go ahead and try to renovate what we have to use for the district,” she continued. “So again, these are funds that have to be used for this reason. This is wonderful.”
“I am so excited,” board member Marti Milliken Dixon said, adding the center would be “a great use for that house on the hill.”
“Thank you, Paul, for your vision on this because it really is exciting for our community,” board member Elizabeth Cybulksi said. “It’s something that we absolutely need, and I think it’s going to be a wonderful addition to our community.”
Board member Brock Pierson was also complimentary. He thought the community resource center would offer dignity for its clients.
Referring to the house on the hill, he added that “it’s nice that we already have that resource. Thank you guys so much.”
“I love it,” board President Michele Krieg said.
Lombardo said he thought the project was going to be a “really, really exciting adventure” that was going to be great for the entire community.
“It’ll be staff, it’ll be students, it’ll be whoever needs something,” he said, noting they “will be able to come to the house and get whatever they need.”
“That’s what we should call it…‘The House,’” Milliken Dixon commented.
Lombardo seemed to think it was a good idea.
“Maybe we’ll call it ‘The House,’” he said. “Why not call it ‘The House?’”
Lombardo noted such a center is already in existence in Wickliffe.
He said that center, the Wickliffe Family Resource Center (WFRC), is “absolutely amazing.”
He noted that it’s self-funded.
“So, we’re going to figure it out in a way where it can self-fund itself,” he said of Geneva’s planned center. “So, it’s not going to cost the district a lot of money to put on.”
According to the Wickliffe Schools website, the WFRC is operated by the Wickliffe City School District. It’s described as “an organization that strives to bring together services and activities that educate, develop skills, and promote health and well-being in order to improve the outcomes of students, families, and individuals in our community.”
Its vision is “to serve as a ‘one-stop shop’ to support the academic, economic, physical, social, and emotional needs of our community by working collaboratively and creatively with other local schools, businesses, non-profits, and governmental agencies.”
According to the information, it “helps connect people to health and medical resources, food, clothing, and toiletries, as well as employment and housing opportunities.” Currently, the center has no residential guidelines to use its services, and prides itself “on serving everyone who comes through our doors!,” the website states.
Lombardo said Anchor Point Strategies would pursue different grants to fix up the house.
“The goal is to get grants to help fund the house transformation and it is to be self-sustaining,” he said.
Lombardo noted that he had a 100-day plan for the project. He thought there would be something further to report after the 100 days.
“…there’ll be more to come on this,” he told the board.
