With the official groundbreaking just over a year ago, and some obstacles since then, the general contractor of the Greenfield School District’s practice field development furnished an update on the project for the board of education at its regular meeting Monday at Rainsboro Elementary.

Jamie Fields and Matt Patton, vice president and project manager, respectively, of Elford Construction provided a brief update to the board regarding the current phase of construction and the estimated completion time of the project.

A major obstacle to the timeline happened in December when a steel subcontractor on the project went out of business. Fields said it took Elford a couple months to get squared away with another steel subcontractor, and during the course of that, potential “quality issues,” Fields said, were discovered with the steel that had already been erected, so it was taken down to make adjustments in some places. Over the course of recent weeks, the steel has all nearly been erected.

With the unexpected delay from December pushing the project, Fields and Patton said there will be a lot of activity in the coming weeks as many trades will be working at the same time to lessen the delay.

According to Patton, the steel for the bus garage part of the building will go up this week, next month will come roofing, then the exterior brick, and then interior work will begin. The estimated completion is September, according to the information provided.

Doug Karnes of McCarty Associates, the architecture firm on the project, noted that the school district did not take a hit financially because of the delay. Elford Construction did though, absorbing the cost of the project delay, the extra work, and making sure the iron workers, whose last paychecks from the folding subcontractor bounced, were paid. Superintendent Quincey Gray echoed that later in her report saying that the delay and its cause have not incurred additional cost to the district.

In other business, athletic director Tim Bolender provided an athletics update that included an overview of the winter and spring sports seasons. Bolender also provided information on the proposed division expansion of the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Bolender said that currently there are three divisions in boys and girls soccer, and the proposal would make five divisions. Likewise, there are four divisions in girls volleyball, boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball, and the proposal would make seven divisions.

He directed school board members to check out what is proposed on the association’s website, which also includes information for Ohio compared to what other states have done with high school sports. You can find out more at ohsaa.org. Once there, click on “school resources” from the drop down menu. From the options on the right side of the page, go to “2024 Divisional Alignment Study Updates.”

Those involved in the March production of “The Little Mermaid” were recognized by the board of education. While only a few were able to make it to the meeting, it was noted that students’ springtime activities have them very busy and therefore unable to attend the meeting.

McClain Choir and Drama Director Loretta Flora told the school board that the late-March production, which included approximately 40 students, was a successful one. Those involved included a lot of freshmen and sophomores, she said, adding that she was “very impressed with the talent.”

School board member and legislative liaison Eric Wise gave state legislation activity updates. He said senate bill 208, which would require an exemption for military children for a school’s open enrollment, is currently in senate committee. Senate bill 112, the Ohio Childhood Safety Act, is also currently in a senate committee. House bill 147 proposes to amend revised code “regarding teacher licensure revocation, teacher hiring practices, and conduct unbecoming to the teaching profession.” This bill has been passed by the house and is currently in senate committee.

Consent agenda items approved by the board of education included the field trip to Newport Aquarium for Greenfield fifth graders on May 9, the sale of two buses to Carlisle Local Schools, and the disposition of two other buses. The board also accepted the resignation of second grade teacher Tammy Sexton, cafeteria staff member Tamela Writsel, and Spanish teacher Teresa Carr.

Employment recommendations approved by the board included Kylie Bayless, music teacher at Greenfield Elementary; Jessica Frankovich, middle school and high school American Sign Language teacher; Molly Kell, preschool teacher at Rainsboro; Madison Williams, middle school and high school art teacher; Lillian Fryman, aide; Whitney Vanzant, Tigerettes adviser; Aiden Pennington, summer maintenance help; and certified substitutes Michelle Houck, Luis Rivas and Brodey Entler.

The next regular session of the Greenfield Exempted Village School District is scheduled for May 20 at 7 p.m. in the central office boardroom.

Angela Shepherd is a correspondent for the Greenfield Exempted Village School District.