The governing board of the agricultural science school agreed in a split vote Thursday to open the school in August 2013, with fears of losing momentum winning out over financial and facilities concerns.

“If there’s no movement on it this year, the likelihood of this happening goes down dramatically,” said board member Jim Leftwich during the meeting’s discussion.

The location of the school, how many students will be in the first class and what grades will be included in the first year all remain undecided, Interim Director Carl Berg said.

The board split on the vote to open for the 2013-14 school year by a 6 to 3 vote with President Ed Leventhal and members Jamie McGregor and Andrew Bell dissenting. Two members were absent and board member Wanda Truss abstained from the vote, citing a lack of information.

McGregor said he had concerns about a projected financial picture that had the school operating in the red for two years and with a goal to enroll 75 freshmen for the first year.

“Seventy-five is high in the sky, folks,” he said. “August is around the corner, it’s March. We don’t have any marketing materials, we don’t have any place to have it.”

Board members maintained that they plan to eventually house the science, technology, engineering and math school — called the Global Impact STEM Academy — in the former South High School but the necessary renovations might not be completed in time for an August start date.

A committee looked at five sites in recent weeks, said Berg, and the board unanimously approved a motion to enter into discussions with two of those sites and other possibilities might come up.

Berg declined to identify the two sites still in the running to serve as a temporary location but the five sites examined are: the Leffel Lane campus of Clark State; the 49 E. College Ave. building at Wittenberg University; Avetech at NextEdge Technology Park; the Downs U.S. Army Reserve Center on West High Street; and Warder Literacy Center. Each site could only hold about 80 students, he said.

Some board members pushed for faster enrollment growth because the funding projections showed the school’s finances breaking even with about 325 students, when revenue starts to exceed the expenses.

“I want to see this go,” said Dave Estrop, board member. “We need help in Ohio now. I’m not willing to wait for those 100 kids.”

State Sen. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, the driving force behind the school, said he was pleased with the board’s decision.

“Kids in this region need this opportunity to be able to get internships, earn college credit and those sorts of things and be able to learn more about the number one industry in the state,” he said.

The board will continue to look for a temporary site and make a decision about enrollment goals and grades in the coming weeks while starting recruitment efforts for the first class.

“The biggest challenge will be making sure we get the best word out to students and parents,” said Berg.