The former Lucas Marc Academy, a beauty academy, will now bear one of the most recognized names in the salon industry. It is now a Paul Mitchell Schools, part of a network of 100 beauty schools bearing the Paul Mitchell name throughout the U.S.

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Lou Starita of Boise, Idaho purchased the 11,000-sq.-ft. former Lucas Marc Academy June 1. Starita also owns for two other Paul Mitchell school franchises in Boise and Nampa, Idaho. Amanda Noga, admissions leader for the Richland school, said Starita plans to retain the instructors who were teaching at the former Lucas Marc Academy. Those instructors will be receive training in the Paul Mitchell Schools programs. The Richland school will use and educate with Paul Mitchell products exclusively and Paul Mitchell instructors and students follow an aggressive, ongoing educational and cultural development program.

“I’m so excited to welcome Paul Mitchell The School Richland to the Paul Mitchell family,” said Winn Claybaugh, co-founder of the school network. “Like every school in our network, the owners and staff share our common mission of doing so much more than merely producing beauty school graduates. We’re out to change the industry by making better human beings.”

Through the corporation’s annual three-month fundraising campaign, students and staff across the country have raised and donated more than $11.2 million to charitable organizations in the past 10 years. They’ve also formed student-run “Go Green Teams” to find ways to reduce, reuse and recycle in their schools and “Be Nice (Or Else) Teams” to support fellow students and local communities.

Paul Mitchell The School Richland will initially offer classes in cosmetology and basic aesthetics, which covers facials and skin care.

The cosmetology course takes about 13 and a half months to complete and costs $20,000, the aesthetics course runs about six months and costs $10,000. Financial aid is available.

“New classes begin every eight weeks, year round,” said Noga. Noga said a course in barbering will be added to the curriculum after the first of the year. About 150 students are enrolled at Paul Mitchell The School Richland.

Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. People are welcome to walk in without appointments, though the school does take appointments also.

Typically a haircut for men or women will run $12. There are Paul Mitchell Schools in Spokane and Portland with about 100 total scattered from coast-to-coast in the U.S. The Paul Mitchell network also has about 100,000 salons in 81 countries worldwide.

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The school is at 71 Gage Blvd., Richland. The phone is 509-591-4979. Paul Mitchell The School Richland is open for tours Monday-Saturday. For more information on Paul Mitchell schools or salons, go to www.PaulMitchell.edu.