According to the Batesville (Ark.) Daily Guard, officials should be able to determine how much a new elementary school will cost by the end of this month.

At issue is a major part of the cost consisting of a steel building frame and the costs associated with the metal building system.

Construction manager George Ring said bids have already been taken on parts of the steel building process, and bids on specialty items should be done this month.

The district will have an idea of the final cost of the metal building and supplementary systems after bids are opened.

“Everything looks reasonably in budget,” he told the district’s school board Monday. “It’s an attainable project based on the bids so far.”

Ring said roadwork needs to begin by October. He also noted that cold weather would not stop crews from pouring a foundation.

“That leaves six weeks of good work before December,” he said. “There will be a lot of work done this year.”

The district will rebid the fire alarm, security and controls packages due to high bids, with packages broken down into smaller components.

In 2006, superintendent Dan Foley asked for state aid in constructing an elementary school at a cost of more than $8 million. Voters supported a tax increase to cover the district’s portion of $2.1 million.

Foley said the initial cost of the elementary school was $8.5 million, but final bids will determine if that figure has increased.

Last year, Southside learned that the Arkansas Division of Academic Facilities Commission approved $6.2 million in state funding for the construction of the elementary school.

Bids have already been opened for the following:

Concrete, masonry work, material steel, material vendors, glass glazing and aluminum windows, metal stud and drywall, acoustical ceiling, painting, floor covering, kitchen equipment, fire suppression system, plumbing, geothermal loop, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical, communications, metal building system and metal building erection.

Not surprisingly, some of the highest bids were related to the proposed prefabricated metal building system and electrical system, with both coming in near $1 million.

Ring said he expects plans for the elementary school to move forward without major cuts to the project.

“You are in good shape from a budgetary standpoint,” he said.

The school board also approved its 2007-08 budget, but doesn’t have much room for error. The $10.8 million budget is estimated to have an ending balance of $640,449.

“We’re going to have to watch that,” School board vice president Gary Mize said. “For the last few years it’s been going down. We’ve had a lot of stuff going on, but we still need to watch it.”