Oxford Schools hosted its third community forum at the Fine Arts Center at Oxford High School on Nov. 13 to provide an update to the public on the agreement between the district and the Weiming Education Group as it relates to a proposed dormitory for housing of international students.
Because the district is still negotiating the lease agreement and changes to the partnership agreement, Deputy Superintendent Tim Throne, was not able to give specific details.
‘We’re still plowing through both documents (and) we’re getting closer. On the lease we’re down to maybe three items left (to negotiate on),? Throne told this reporter. ‘I think we’re close on the operating agreement as well, maybe just a few items there.?
Throne hosted the third meeting because Superintendent Dr. William Skilling is out on medical leave.
‘I think it went well,? he said. ‘Going into it I wanted to bring our community, those interested, up to speed on the new information we had available.?
Context for partnership
In order to give the crowd a little context as to why the agreement between Oxford Schools and Weiming is important, Matt Gibb, deputy county executive in charge of Economic Development for Oakland County, spoke from the county’s perspective.
Gibb explained Oakland County had over 1,000 foreign owned, multinational firms from 38 different countries which do business in here.
‘We have the most diverse corporate culture anywhere in the United States of America,? he said. ‘With more than 300 Japanese corporations, 270 German corporations and 100 corporations from Korea and we have 51 corporations from China.?
Gibb further explained the county is fully supportive of the Weiming project and partnership.
‘It just is critical to what we’re doing here in Oakland County, to understand how we sustain what we have and understand that we are now a global economy,? he added. ‘Everything we do is touched globally.?
Gibb said the global initiative doesn’t have to happen in Oxford, but he believes it should because Oxford has a school superintendent who is willing to do it.
‘Now, if you think that, Bill has done the right thing or not, maybe he’s said the wrong words or maybe some of the work he has done in this process has roughened you a little bit. I don’t begrudge you for that,? he said. ‘That’s ancillary to the importance of what it means for your students here in Oxford.?
Gibbs noted Oxford students having the opportunity to work side-by-side with students from China will ‘have an immense competitive advantage,? when they get into college and get out into the world.
‘My greatest fear is our students learn that (being beaten by foreign students) is the status-quo and they don’t recognize their global competitor can be their friend,? Gibbs said in his closing remarks. ‘I encourage you to have good dialog and be open to the idea of having Oxford Schools be the one who brings this (international program) to Michigan. It is significant and not to be taken lightly.?
Background
Throne explained Oxford currently has two student exchange agreements. One with Weiming, which was approved by the board November 15, 2013 and signed into agreement on November 17, 2013 and another with BCC (Beijing Channel Consulting). The agreement with BCC was approved by the board on May 24, 2010 and the contract was renewed on September 11, 2013.
‘The majority of the work done this year (with Weiming) is to create a new lease and bring the existing operational agreement together into a cohesive mix between the two,? Throne said.
He also explained they’ve been doing international work for the past four and half years.
‘If, in your mind, you’re saying, ‘if we can just stop this facility from being built, we’re going to stop Oxford’s quest for global competency,? Throne said. ‘That’s not true. We’re still going to bring international students here.?
While the district has learned the best ways to integrate foreign students into American culture is by having them live with host families, Throne said many of host families are burned out.
‘Many of our Oxford families are saying ‘thank you but we need a break,? he said. ‘By building this facility this is a way we can continue to bring these international students here and integrate them into the high school.?
Throne wanted to stress to the audience that they are listening to the concerns and suggestions given by the public, and in fact, are implementing changes in the contracts, due to some of those suggestions, which is why they have held the forums in order to get public input. He used the lease agreement as an example of changes made.
‘When we first started putting the lease together – and in these discussions with Weiming, that lease was a 75-year lease and a lot of people said, ‘that’s way too long.?
‘We heard you and it’s down to about a 20 year lease. We’ve made well-over 50 other changes to the lease and operational agreement.?
He told the audience he could not present the proposed lease agreeement until the contract was signed.
‘Just like I can’t when we’re negotiating (contracts) with the teachers,? he noted.
Previous public concern
One of the public’s concerns was whether or not the dormitory should be built on school property. Throne said if the building was moved off school property, than they would lose control of what that building looks like and how it functions.
‘We lose the quality of construction, how they want to maintain it, how they want to repair it (and) we lose the ability to take advantage of classrooms that are being proposed to be built inside this facility,? he said. ‘If they build a facility four miles to the west of us, I don’t care if they have eight classrooms or 20 classrooms, I’ve now incurred cost because I am transporting students back and forth to take advantage of those classrooms. It’s most advantageous for us to have it on our site.?
Throne noted having the building on the school’s physical footprint would help foster activities between the foreign exchange students and Oxford students, such as sporting events, dances and other activities.
He reiterated the district is not paying any money towards the project.
‘If this building cost $4 million, $8 million, $12 million – if they have overruns and it is $15 million. We don’t care and we’re not paying for it,? he said. ‘We’re not putting a penny into it.?
A huge reason for wanting the dormitory to be built on school property is for the extra classroom space. Throne said the high school is almost at max capacity. Even if they weren’t bringing in any international students, he said the current seventh grade class is the largest class in the district and once they enter the high school there won’t be enough space for all of them.
‘So, this is one strategy to get us more classroom space that does not cost the district any money. Are there other strategies? There are,? he said. ‘One strategy is we could go out, raise taxes, have a millage, take money and build more classrooms for our own students coming up through the system.?
Throne said the cost for an extra 11,000 square feet of eight classrooms is roughly $2 million.
‘We asked an architect how much does it cost for an educational space (that size). We were given $180 (per square-foot).?
‘The educational space, is a value this partnership would bring to the district immediately,? Throne added. ‘The building will be taxable right away (and) the land, which the district owns will be leased to them, will not be taxable until two years down the road.?
Q & A
The question and answer period kicked off with a question asking if there was another student exchange and operating or proposed program else ware in the United States similar to what oxford Schools is discussing.
‘There are actually some other facilities around the United States. In fact, our residence academy team learned of a school in Indiana that is doing something similar to this and we’re going to go visit them,? Throne answered. ‘Is there anything in the state of Michigan that we know about? There is not.?
If there was one question several audience members wanted to weigh on, it was whether or not the public would get chance to vote on whether a foreign company enterprise can use public land, which the local residents pay taxes on.
Throne said the public would not get to vote and that the decision would be up the school board. Even though the public has voted on past initiatives such as the blue turf and the tennis courts, Throne said because there is no taxpayer money going towards the building and the fact the school board is leasing the land, under the law they have the right to lease property to whomever they choose to enter agreement with.
Another audience member asked what happens after the 20-year lease is over and taxpayers are stuck with the building, how will the district account for those funds?
‘We are trying to address those concerns in the ongoing negotiations with them and put those very strict stipulations within the lease contract,? answered Throne.
Bigger outlook
As the meeting began to wind down, one woman from the audience urged the public to take a step back to see the bigger picture. The woman gave a personal story of her son, who is a senior in dual enrollment classes with many international students at the high school. She said he had a global politics discussion with some of the Chinese students outside of class and started explaining the differences of freedom in the United States to China.
‘That exchange between our students on a global level is priceless. It’s not about the little ins and outs of what this may or may not cost here or there in the big global sense. The global sense is embracing these kids as a global family,? she explained.
‘If we’re willing to do that, that’s what’s going to make the difference in creating the global education and global environment that we need for our kids to succeed, our kids as a whole, not just yours and mine, but all kids.?
As of right now, Throne doesn’t have a date of completion when the lease agreement will be signed, but he’s hoping it’s soon.
‘We’re moving as fast as we can, but we have to get to the final point that both sides feel comfortable and it’s fully bedded and we’re good to go,? he said. ‘It’s going to take what it takes and we’re going to keep working towards it.?