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South Routt — Work began on the new South Routt Early Learning Center this week, after about two years of planning and fundraising by South Routt School District officials.

Engineers erected fencing around the site, located near the South Routt Elementary School in Yampa, on Tuesday. Soil tests began Wednesday, said South Routt School Board President Tim Corrigan, who also is on the Early Learning Center's board.

In Steamboat Springs, construction at the Soda Creek and Strawberry Park elementary school sites was delayed this summer after soil tests showed the dirt foundations were unstable. Corrigan said he isn't worried that soil tests in Yampa would be anything more than a formality.

"For residential construction in Yampa, the ground is so solid and consistent they don't even require soil tests for houses," he said. "We have a very stable, cobble river bed in South Routt : I would be shocked if there were any problems with the soil test."

Blue Water Development and South Routt Engineering won the bid for the $655,000 project.

Corrigan said the company has assured the board that the new facility, which will include 2,500 square feet of space with two classrooms, staff offices, a family room and several covered porches, will be ready to open for the 2008-09 school year.

"We have a long enough construction timeline that even if they have to stop construction for a month or two in the winter we'd be on schedule," Corrigan said. "It's a pretty simple building."

Superintendent Kelly Reed said the Early Learning Center, which will accommodate as many as 60 children in two half-day programs, is much more than a daycare facility.

"It's essential because the data has shown over the last 20 years that for those children who attend preschool, they will have a leg up on kindergarten and first grade," Reed said. "They will also be more prepared for the social setting and the ability to sit down and learn. It's an opportunity to interact with other children in a formal setting."

Influx of funds

Other capital improvement projects are moving forward in South Routt after voters passed Referendum 3B by a 3-to-1 margin in the Nov. 6 election.

The referendum, which will help district officials replace antiquated coal-fired boilers at South Routt schools, received 73 percent of the votes cast in South Routt.

Revenues from the referendum will supplement a $1.57 million capital construction grant the district received in July from the Colorado Department of Education. On Thursday, McKinstry Company representatives updated the School Board on a preliminary timeline on the project.

"They'll have a formalized, guaranteed maximum price at the next meeting," Reed said. "They are already doing the energy audit right now. Actually awarding bids to subcontractors will start immediately after signing the initial contract at our December board meeting."

South Routt voters also overwhelmingly approved Referendum 3A, which allows for a property tax increase and will help the district combat a steady decline in student enrollment, which Reed said has created a significant loss of state revenue.

The declining enrollment has caused the gradual dismissal of six teachers and five paraprofessionals in recent years, along with a reduction in the number of extracurricular activities.

"We've started discussing just how we would allocate the additional $365,000 we got for the general fund," Corrigan said. "It's very early in the process. The administration sent out a survey to all the district staff to get their input on how we should spend the money. Next month, we will start fleshing that out a little bit more."