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Apollo-Ridge Elementary School students won't settle into a new school until January, when the Steelers hopefully are plowing their way through the NFL playoffs.

The school had been slated to be finished on July 16 -- before the black-and-gold even begin training camp.

The delay means that students will spend half of the year in the elementary schools they have been attending and half of the year in the new $16.5 million facility which will replace Elders Ridge, Sunnyside, Apollo and North Apollo elementary schools.

The buildings were constructed in the 1950s. The new school is being constructed behind Apollo-Ridge High School off Route 56 in the Spring Church section of Kiski Township.

"The projected completion date is the end of October," said Apollo-Ridge School Board President Bill Naser.

However, Naser said officials have decided to wait until after the new year to move the children in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Naser said poor weather is the main reason for the delay.

Naser said officials plan to sell Elders Ridge, Sunnyside and North Apollo elementary schools. He said he's not sure if Apollo Elementary School also will be a part of that process.

But he said officials still have a lot to do before the schools can be sold .

"We've done absolutely nothing," he said.

Naser said officials from the Apollo Little League have expressed concern because the organization uses a field at Sunnyside Elementary School.

Rosemary Ross, Apollo Little League president, said the field was used by eight T-ball and minor league teams this year.

Naser said the board will try to work with league officials and possibly try to subdivide the property so the fields aren't lost.

"They did agree to meet with us," Ross said.

She said the field is used almost every night and on weekends.

"It would be beyond our ability to purchase another field somewhere," Ross said. She likes the field's location because it's tucked behind the school and away from the road.

"An ideal situation would be for the township to purchase it and donate the field," Ross said.

Apollo-Ridge is only the latest school district to sell off elementary schools. The South Butler School District was the latest example, having completed the sale of its four elementary schools last summer.

South Buffalo School District spokesman Todd O'Shell said officials had to go through a lengthy process with the state Department of Education in order to get the schools ready to sell. But once the schools went on the market, they sold quickly.

"We had people in line waiting for the process to begin." O'Shell said. The buildings were put up for sale in February 2002 and the sales were completed that August.

He said that district officials received the appraised value on three of the buildings, and close to the appraised value of the other building.

"Everything fell together much better than we expected," he said.

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