BELLVILLE — The Clear Fork Board of Education members began organizing the first steps for moving in to their new elementary buildings in January at this week’s board meeting.

District officials say they believe both Bellville and Butler elementary schools will be completed in time for the move in December.

Brad Geismann, with the Adena Corporation, described the progress for both elementary buildings. From the earliest phase, Butler has been ahead of Bellville. As of the April 9 board meeting, Butler has “95 percent of the steel set” and is “70 percent dried in” he noted.

Geismann said residents can begin to see Butler’s school take shape and see some of the color scheme in the exterior panels now in place.

Due to several factors at the Bellville site, the construction is somewhat behind the school in Butler. However, Geismann stated the progress is on schedule to finish all the necessary elements of the building by the December deadline.

The original elementary building will remain in use until the new building is finished. It stands so close to the new building under construction that the front entrance “canopy” will not be completed until after the old building is torn down, Geismann said.

The Bellville school site has 35 to 40 percent of the steel set and some roof panels are being installed on the gym and combination cafeteria and auditorium, called a “cafetorium.”

Backfill has been a necessary condition to keep the building out of the floodplain, a factor severely tested during the April 5 rains and localized flooding.

The district will be seeking bids from moving companies for the “transfer of district-owned classroom inventory from the existing elementary facilities into the new facilities.” In the near future bids may be sought from auctioneering services to sell other property from the old building.

These moves are in anticipation of switching over operations for both elementary schools during the Christmas break beginning in December.

Board members were told some financial factors have been working in their favor. Among them is the lower-than-expected cost to demolish the Hines Avenue building in Bellville. This building is housing the preschool, kindergarten, cafeteria and district offices.

The current bid for demolition of the structure is $176,000, instead of the planned $300,000. A smaller building on site in Bellville, referred to by the district as the “annex,” is now slated to be used for preschool operations.

Treasurer Bradd Stevens said the district saved another $19,000 by retrofitting the high school building to LED lighting. The district is promoting reductions in “classified salaries, insurance expenditures, utilities, supplies and equipment expenditures,” Stevens reported.

Transportation expenses remain high for Clear Fork. Stevens noted the district spends twice what it receives from reimbursement from the state. He said this does not include the expense of new buses.

The board is discussing the sale of property in the Hamilton Hills section of Bellville. It took steps to seek bids from an auctioneer service for the sale of property in Monday’s meeting.

Board president Kyle Beveridge described the impact of declining enrollment. He said this is not unique to Clear Fork, but that most districts across Ohio are facing the same problem.

Ohio is also changing how it funds districts based on enrollment. Clear Fork has been included in the “guarantee funding” program from the state, meaning the amount the district receives from the state does not change based on small fluctuations in enrollment. The district says Ohio wants to move away from guarantee funding.

Last month, representative Mark Romanchuk told board members the state’s priority is to “fund students, not buildings.”

“When the state reduces the guarantee, Clear Fork will be affected,” Stevens said. “By how much and when is not definitive.”

“We need 60 to 70 more open-enrollment students,” Beveridge said, to make up for anticipated funding decreases from the state.