BELLAIRE — As the history of St. John Central comes to a close in Bellaire, it appears that the building that housed first the high school and then the academy may still have a future in education.

At 12:27 p.m. Monday, it was announced that the Bellaire Local School District Board of Education would hold an emergency meeting at 3:45 p.m. that day for the board to “tour a facility under consideration for potential purchase.” While no official board action was planned, members did examine the former St. John Central High School facility, which stands on the opposite of Guernsey Street from Bellaire High School, in person.

The high school closed in 2019 and was replaced by St. John Central Academy, a pre-K through 12th grade institution that was no longer affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Steubenville. The academy announced last month that it was closing for financial reasons.

Vince Gianangeli, a 1979 graduate who served as finance manager and as a past principal of St. John Central Academy, and Chris Bryniarski, a 1985 graduate and member of the academy board, led the tour. Together, they showed Bellaire Local board members, Superintendent Derrick McAfee and district Treasurer Cathy Moore everything from the main office to the gymnasium, wrestling and locker rooms, science labs and even the boiler.

As they made their way through the three-story building, board members took note of pluses and minuses – new flooring in some rooms, especially the early childhood areas; an impressive array of lab equipment; signs stating that ceilings should not be disturbed due to the presence of asbestos; a modern, 3-year-old boiler standing alongside the original one that is no longer used.

In the home economics classroom, Gianangeli told the visitors he had talked with the Sons of Italy lodge, where he is a member, about an industrial grade freezer that the organization would like to obtain. He explained that the lodge annually makes thousands of pounds of its famous sausage to sell at the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival in Wheeling, so the freezer would come in handy for that organization.

Gianangeli, who is also a Belmont County commissioner, said an appraiser had visited the building to do an assessment of the property. He expects to receive an official appraisal of the structure in five to seven days.

McAfee termed the session a “fact-finding” tour. He said he did not know what the district would do with the building if it were to purchase it. Asked if classrooms are currently crowded, creating a need for expansion, he said exploring the option was less aout crowded classrooms and more about potential space for offering various programming.

He said he didn’t anticipate much discussion of the possibilities among board members at this point.

“There’s nothing concrete to discuss yet,” he said.

Along the way around the building, Gianangeli and Bryniarski reminisced about their school days. Bellaire Local board members including Bill Marinelli, Susie Rataiczak, Jim Thoburn, Jason Ayres and Jim LaRoche recalled the rivalry between the two schools when St. John was in its heyday with classes numbering more than 100 members.

The board adjourned its meeting without taking an action.