ST. JOSEPH — Jim Acklin is thankful the damage wasn't worse.

"I believe that the fire departments arguably saved our school building," Superintendent Jim Acklin said this week at the St. Joseph-Ogden High School board meeting.

Acklin reported on the extent of damage from the June 16 bus barn fire. One athletic-equipment room had smoke damage but it was cleaned by Servpro.

Numerous community members have stepped up to help the district, Acklin said.

Bob Oltean, general manager of Toyota of Danville, has lent the district a car so drivers' education classes can continue. "We only lost one day of instruction," Acklin said.

Dorothy and Jean McCown are letting the district use a shed near the high school as temporary storage. A mower is being lent to the district from Birkey's Farm Store in Urbana. The village and township have also offered assistance.

Acklin has also made progress on replacing the buses lost in the fire.

Midwest Transit has offered to release the district from leases on the destroyed buses. They would then lease the district 2012 models with the same lease payment, for five years. Acklin said this was possible due to lower interest rates. Acklin said the buses will be released before the start of school in August.

Acklin said the vehicles and maintenance equipment will be replaced at a depreciated value. The building and the rest of the contents will be replaced at a replacement value.

"I am bound and determined we are going to get what is coming to us from the insurance company," Acklin said.

The insurance company, Hanover Insurance, is sending an electrical engineer to determine if the cause of the fire was electrical. Until the investigation is completed debris cannot be removed from the site.

Acklin told board members to think about where they wanted a replacement shed built. He felt the old shed was too close to the press box. He told the board the options were to rebuild the bus barn, concession stand and athletic storage in the same location, separate the three units and build them in different locations or work on purchasing property from the McCowns to put a barn on. The property, 130 feet by 190 feet, is west of the high school, near where the bus barn once stood.

Acklin said he thought the ideal situation was to have separate transportation and athletic storage units.

Acklin said the structure replacement could be done in stages with athletic storage first, then transportation and the concession stand last. The school's Fan Club donated a trailer that concessions could be sold out of for the first year, Acklin said.

Acklin said one major project that needed to be tackled soon was restoring power to the football field and the parking lot.

Acklin also received board approval to begin work on re-siding the press box. The heat of the fire stripped the siding off the back of it. The work will cost $1,000, Acklin said.

Acklin said he would speak to the McCowns about purchasing the property and the board would discuss what type of replacement garage to build during the July meeting.