BELLAIRE — St. John Central Academy is attempting to sell the plethora of items the school no longer has a use for due to its closure this past June.

The school’s finance manager, Vince Gianangeli, said that the school had a $100,000 line of credit that he is attempting to pay back by selling off virtually everything inside of the building.

He said that since he recently began selling the items he has already brought that debt down to $75,000.

Although a date has not been set yet, Gianangeli plans to hold an auction at the school to sell the remaining items later in the fall.

Gianangeli said that science equipment, desks, chairs, filing cabinets, an industrial grade freezer, musical instruments, and various other school supplies are up for sale. He added that more than $65,000 worth of science equipment has been donated to Bellaire School District due to Ohio Revised Code requiring all materials and equipment that was paid for by state funds to be offered to any remaining public school located within the public district.

The school originally closed its doors in 2019. Up until its closure, it was under the control of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Steubenville. In 2019, a private committee established St. John Central Academy in the fall of 2019 and operated the school until its demise in July.

When purchasing the school from the Diocese in 2019, the school was purchased for $1. Gianangeli said the school was able to operate due to a combination of a private benefactor and scholarship funds from the state of Ohio.

He added there were 137 students in 2021-2022 and last year only had 64 students.

“With the decline of enrollment came the decline in scholarship funds from the state,” Gianangeli said.

In July, there was some interest from Bellaire Local School Board to purchase the building.

Bellaire Superintendent Derrick McAfee said that nothing has moved since July and the board currently has no planned action to purchase the building.

Gianangeli said that, although he would love for Bellaire Schools to purchase the building so it can continue to be an academic facility, he has also spoken to multiple private business owners who have shown interest in purchasing the property.

The facility is for sale for $361,500.27, which Gianangeli believes is a great deal. He said that the appraisal value of the school was $723,000 but the school board isn’t looking to make a profit, just to eradicate its debt.

After selling the building and all of the items inside, he said if there is any money left over he’s considered the possibility of giving it to the school’s booster club as a thank you for the support over the years, but added that no decision has been made.

Gianangeli said that all of the trophies and awards given to the school over the years were returned to the diocese but any awards that mark a specific former student such as breaking any records will be given to the individual.

He added that St. John Academy and Bellaire Schools reached an agreement recently where all record requests from former St. John students can be requested through Bellaire School District.

Gianangeli said that if anyone is interested in purchasing any of the items remaining in the school to contact him at V.gianangeli@SJCacademy.net.