Oxford school district voters could be going to the polls in February to decide whether or not to extend their bond debt by $89.984 million for an additional 10 years to expand and enhance everything from classrooms to athletic fields.
‘We’re out of space at four of our elementary buildings,? said Superintendent Dr. Bill Skilling. ‘We have no space to grow.?
Should voters approve this bond, the entire district will have plenty of room as 120,926 square feet would be added by 2012 to the five elementaries, middle school, high school and bus garage plus outside athletic team rooms, restrooms and storage.
‘Every Oxford student, no matter what building he’s in, should have the same opportunities, the same quality of education, as any other child,? said Skilling, noting the entire process of creating this bond proposal was driven by committees made up of average citizens and community leaders.
But before voters approve or deny anything, the board of education must first vote to put the proposal on the Feb. 24 ballot at its Monday, Dec. 1 meeting.
Should that happen, voters will have three months to decide things like does the district need eight new tennis courts or 1,500 more spectator seats, artificial turf and a new press box for the football stadium or a brand new 500-seat soccer/lacrosse stadium.
To pay for such things, district voters will not be asked to increase the 7 mills per year they already pay to retire the existing bond debt, which is scheduled to be paid off in 2031.
They will, however, be asked to keep paying until 2041, an additional 10 years, should this bond proposal succeed at the ballot box.
If voters loosen their purse-strings, parents, students and staff will see some big changes come the fall of 2011.
For one thing, all fifth-grade classes would be moved from the four elementary schools to the middle school, which would become, in essence, two separate schools ? an intermediate school on the first floor for fifth and sixth-graders and a middle school for seventh and eighth-graders on the second floor.
Given their developmental differences, both physically and socially, it’s better to group each of these two grades together.
‘Based on all the research, taking sixth-grade and teaching them more like elementary students is the better way to go versus the middle school (approach),? Skilling said.
Even though all four grades will be in one building, the intermediate and middle school students will be kept separate from each other.
‘You’ll have two distinct entities and two different schedules for 5/6 and 7/8,? Skilling said. ‘The two buildings will be totally secured from one another.?
Only staff will be able to move between the two schools. The only place where all the grades would have the chance to mingle is in the media center, which Skilling said is the best possible setting for such interactions.
Transforming the middle school into two separate schools is by far the ‘biggest project? in this bond and as such bears the highest price tag ? $23,252,000. This will cover the cost of things such as two new main offices, a new 5/6 gym and cafeteria, new 7/8 band, orchestra and choir rooms, a new wrestling practice area and a fitness area with age-appropriate aerobic and weight-lifting equipment.
Overall, a total of 41,462 square feet would be added to the middle/intermediate school.
‘It’s the most expensive, but that’s how we’re gaining capacity,? Skilling said.
Moving the fifth-graders will free up much-needed space for future capacity at the elementary schools. Rather than build a new elementary school in the Waterstone development, Skilling said it was determined to be more cost effective to take existing facilities and look at how the district can better utilize their space.
It must be remembered that bond dollars can only be used to build and equip facilities. They cannot be used to hire more teachers, more administrators, more paraprofessionals or pay additional utility costs.
‘We had to look at when this is all said and done, what is the most affordable for us to handle?? Skilling said.
If this bond is approved, it will add about $250,000 annually to the district’s operations costs. ‘And it may be less because we’re doing so much in the way of energy efficiency (in the buildings),? Skilling noted.
Daniel Axford (DA) and Oxford Elementary (OES) will also see some big changes in fall 2011. As OES says good-bye to its fifth-graders, it will say hello to all the first and second-graders from DA.
All of the district’s preschool programs will be centralized at DA, so the building will contain only them and kindergartners.
In the process, a total of 18,751 square feet will be added to OES. Of the total bond, $12,945,000 will be spent at OES, the most of any elementary school.
One thing all the elementaries ? Oxford, Leonard, Lakeville and Clear Lake ? will have in common is new music and art rooms. ‘We’re making sure each elementary building has an appropriate art room and music room,? Skilling said. ‘None of our elementary buildings has adequate music or art rooms. Clear Lake is the only one that has a designated space, but they were converted classroom spaces. They weren’t designed for music or art.?
Leonard Elementary will see the remains of its old ‘high school? portion torn down to make way for a brand new gymnasium.
All elementary playgrounds will be upgraded with regard to safety, handicap-accessibility and age-appropriate equipment.
A feature all seven school buildings will share is a new ‘safe, secure and unidentifiable entry? point. Each main entrance will have two sets of doors. The first will be left unlocked, while the second set will remain locked during school hours. In between these door sets will be access to the main office, where all visitors will be routed.
‘They have to check in at the office before they can have access to the building,? Skilling said. ‘This is going to be standard in every building now.?
Over at OHS, $16,270,000 of the bond would be used to pay for things such as the addition of a new pre-engineering lab for metal fabrication, an orchestra classroom and new dance/theater room for rehearsing plays or musicals and learning classical dance like ballet.
Outside, the OHS football stadium would receive 1,000 new spectator seats for the home team, 500 more for the visitors and a new field house. A new press box would also be constructed because Skilling said the existing one, which is only a few years old, is ‘too small.?
The football field’s natural grass would be replaced with an artificial turf that’s safer, more user-friendly for both games and practice, and saves on maintenance costs such as mowing, watering and fertilizing.
The old press box would be moved to the site of the new 500-seat soccer/lacrosse stadium that’s also being proposed.
With the soccer teams having their own stadium, the district would convert the old football field behind OES into eight brand new tennis courts for both school and community use. The track around the old field would remain, but it would be resurfaced with asphalt.
On the technology side of things, every classroom in the district would be given a new computer, printer, interactive whiteboard, document camera, display device, phone and sound system. The TV studio at OHS would be updated along with upgrades to the district’s phone system, mobile laptop carts and other infrastructure.
‘Technology’s a big portion of this bond,? Skilling said. ‘It’s about $10 million.?
The district’s transportation department would receive a $3,774,000 shot in the arm from this proposed bond in the form of 10 new buses and the remodeling/expansion of the existing bus garage ‘because it’s too small for the current fleet.?
Some may argue with the economy as bad as it is right now that asking voters to approve a $90 million bond extension is unwise.
But Skilling explained how this bond would be a ‘local stimulus package.?
At the peak of construction, the superintendent said there will be anywhere from 200 to 300 workers in the district and they will be potential consumers of local goods and services.
Improving and expanding the school district’s facilities will also increase property values because schools are the first thing people look at when they’re relocating, according to the superintendent.
A superior school district increases the demand for homes within it, which in turn increases values, Skilling explained.
And finally, for those cost-conscious taxpayers, Skilling said the district is much more likely to get ‘more favorable? (i.e. lower-priced) bids from contractors hungry for work during these tough times than during boom times.