When it comes to its proposed bond extension, the Oxford school district is planning to ask voters to approve $20 million less than it originally planned.
‘We’re changing the scope of the bond project,? said Superintendent Dr. Bill Skilling. ‘We decided to stay focused on what we absolutely have to do.?
Originally, the school board was expected to vote Monday night on whether or not to place an $89.984 million bond proposal before voters on the Feb. 24 ballot.
However, that meeting was cancelled and instead the district’s steering committee, which is comprised of 10 citizens, met Monday to discuss how to scale back the bond proposal.
The proposed bond encompasses upgrades and additions to everything from classrooms to arts and athletic facilities to technology and transportation.
Unfortunately, due to a change in policy regarding the state’s School Loan Revolving Fund, Oxford will not be able to generate $20 million of the money it needs to accomplish everything in the original bond proposal.
The revolving fund makes loans to districts to assist with making debt service payments on state-qualified bonds.
As a result of this policy change, Oxford would not be able to bond for the full $89.984 million it originally wanted without raising the current tax rate of 7 mills as initially planned.
‘We decided to move forward with what we could bond for and not raise the tax millage,? Skilling said.
To make up that $20 million difference, the district’s steering committee scaled the bond proposal back to $70 million by decreasing the project’s cost estimates by 3 percent and putting certain items on hold for now.
‘Things that we don’t absolutely have to do right now are still going to be master planned in for future proposals,? Skilling noted.
The school board is expected to vote on placement of the scaled-back $70 million bond proposal on the February ballot at its 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15 meeting at the middle school. ‘That’s what’s being targeted right now,? Skilling said.
If approved by the school board, voters would be asked to extend the district’s bond debt an additional 10 years, meaning taxpayers would keep paying until 2041 instead of 2031. The annual tax rate would remain 7 mills with no increase.
Plans concerning schools involved with the education of students in kindergarten through eighth grade are ‘still the priority? and comprise ‘at least 95 percent? of the bond proposal, according to the superintendent.
The only things removed from the proposal in this area involved Daniel Axford and Oxford elementaries.
At DA, plans to renovate the kitchen and cafeteria, put in a new gym floor and do some mechanical work were eliminated from the bond budget.
At OES, five new classrooms will be added instead of the nine originally proposed. As a result, instead of moving all first and second-graders at DA to OES in 2011, only the second-graders will go to the school on Pontiac St., which is currently for grades 3-5.
‘Those are the only adjustments for the K-8 package,? Skilling said. ‘Nothing else is being adjusted.?
At the high school, plans to build a new press box for the football stadium and add 1,500 bleacher seats were removed from this bond proposal.
Plans to build a 500-seat soccer/lacrosse stadium were also put on the back-burner.
Instead, artificial turf is going to be added, as originally planned, to the football stadium, so it can also be used as the home field for football, soccer and lacrosse.
‘We’re going to play three sports on it and use it for practice,? Skilling said. ‘This is giving us a better return on that investment. We’ve got bleachers and everything there, let’s make more use of it.?
Instead, of converting the old football field behind OES into eight new tennis courts, it would remain grass and be used for soccer and lacrosse matches when there’s a scheduling conflict at the high school stadium and for practices.
Four tennis courts would be built at OHS on the site of what is now the freshman football practice field.
Skilling said this would allow students in high school physical education classes to play tennis and allow the district to offer it as a sport like so many other schools do.
‘We’re the only Class A school in the State of Michigan without a tennis team,? he noted. ‘Kids are asking for a tennis team.?
Inside the high school, Skilling said construction of an orchestra classroom and dance/theater room would no longer be part of this current bond proposal.
‘We were going to be adding a new corridor at one end of the high school to help with pedestrian traffic, but we’re not doing that,? Skilling added.
On the transportation side, improvements to the bus garage would be strictly limited to the restrooms (particularly the women’s facilities which are much too small) and creating a team meeting room.
Also, the number of new buses to be purchased would be scaled back from 10 to four.
However, depending on how the bidding went, Skilling said the district could purchase up to five new buses with the bond money.