The I Promise public school that LeBron James opened for disadvantaged youngsters in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, will eventually end up costing district taxpayers roughly $8 million each year.

Akron school district spokesman Mark Williamson said: 'The coverage made it look like the whole thing is his. He did a lot, but taxpayers should know it's their investment too.'

Taxpayers will foot the bill because the school is a joint effort between Akron Public Schools, which covers the daily running of the school, and LeBron's foundation.

It is the product of a decade's worth of work and as a public school it is not run for profit.

District officials are still trying to finalize the contract details for the school, Cleveland.com reports.

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The I Promise public school that LeBron James opened for disadvantaged youth in Akron, Ohio last month will eventually end up costing district taxpayers roughly $8 million each year

The NBA star was widely praised and received national media coverage for his support of at-risk children when the school officially opened last month.

He personally donated millions through his LeBron James Family Foundation, worked to secure sponsorship and will ultimately have a huge influence on the school program.

But the Akron district will actually end up paying around 75 percent of costs - $8 million - once it is fully established.

The district will hire and pay the teachers and administration and pupils will ride district buses to school.

The costs will mostly be covered by moving teachers, students and funds from other schools, according to the district.

LeBron's foundation will contribute $2 million a year when the school is functioning at full capacity with all eight grades. Currently, it is only catering for third and fourth graders.

The foundation has already contributed $500,000 this year to cover additional teachers, training and after-school care.

It has also spent $2 million on the redesign of the school district building.

James also promised to pay for free bicycles and helmets for students and vowed to pay tuition to the University of Akron for I Promise graduates, among other things.

Most celebrity forays into education been into the contentious charter school movement but I Promise intends to be a genuine public school, not a charter or a private school.

Charter schools are publicly funded and privately operated and seen by their critics as little more than vehicles for drawing resources away from traditional public schools and undercutting teachers unions.

LeBron was widely praised and received national media coverage for his support of at-risk children when the school officially opened last month. He is pictured addressing the crowd

The I Promise School, which is the product of a decade's worth of work, is focused on helping Akron students from difficult backgrounds who qualify based on socioeconomic and performance factors

LeBron's (above at the opening) foundation will contribute $2 million a year when the school is functioning at full capacity with all eight grades. LeBron has previously donated millions of dollars to his hometown school district

LeBron has previously donated millions of dollars to his hometown school district.

The I Promise school, which LeBron counts as one of his greatest accomplishments, will offer classes for 'at-risk' students in the third and fourth grades and add first and second grades the following year.

The school will be finished by 2022 with first through eighth grades.

For James, who recalled missing 83 days of school as a fourth grader while he and his mom Gloria 'looked for stability,' the opening culminated years of planning by his family foundation.

'This means everything,' James told The Associated Press at the opening.

'I think this is the greatest accomplishment for me because it's not just me. A championship is for a team, that's for an organization and a city. But these kids, this is for generation after generation after generation and it's for these kids, so it means everything.'

LeBron's school earned the praise of First Lady Melania Trump this week after the President attacked the NBA star in a weekend tweet questioning his intelligence.

LeBron's school earned the praise of First Lady Melania Trump this week after the President attacked the NBA star in a weekend tweet questioning his intelligence

Trump was referring to an interview last Monday in which the NBA legend opened up to Don Lemon about how he felt Trump had exacerbated US racial tensions

Host Don Lemon questioned Trump's right to slam the basketball legend considering his recent good deeds and Trump's recent controversies

The president lashed out at James after the three-time NBA champion was interviewed by CNN's Don Lemon largely to tout the public school's opening.

During the interview James said sports was something that unites Americans but that Trump 'used sport to kind of divide us,' drawing the retaliatory tweet from the president.

'Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!' Trump tweeted.

Mrs Trump appeared to take exception with her husband's attack on him.

'It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as she always has, the first lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today,' a statement issued by her spokeswoman said.

Following the attack from Trump, the school district spokesman also came out in defense of LeBron.

'Anyone that's done what LeBron James has done for the past decade to 15 years for our children to prepare them to flourish in life has to be an intelligent person,' Mark Williamson said

'He's a bright guy, end of story.'

Williamson called James a great role model, saying: 'He's never let our children down. Not once. He's never let these kids down.'