Oakwood superintendent discusses bond possibilities

According to Richard Scoggin, superintendent at Oakwood I.S.D., Oakwood is looking forward to another great school year. On the heels of the recent TEA rating improvements for both the elementary and the high school, they are making sure to dot all of their "i"s and cross all of their "t"s.

A couple of months ago, school board members brought up the idea of a bond election. Having been through this process before, Scoggin wanted to be sure to have all the information possible available before taking any steps to present a bond election. The first step was to contact 3 architectural firms. After careful consideration, the school board chose a longstanding firm, Claycomb out of the Dallas area, to act solely on an advisory level. This firm was able to answer some questions arising from the idea of a bond election. Claycomb has already been involved in projects in Freestone and Anderson counties. This has been an insightful process for the board. According to Scoggin, by being able to gathering the information ahead of time, without having to sign any contracts or pay any retainer fees, has been a big relief to the board. The school board was also able to strike such a deal with Southwest Financial. They too are acting solely as advisers.

Now with professionals able to answer those questions that are sure to arise, the school board is gathering a committee of school personnel, school board members, and tax payers from Oakwood, Flo, and St. Paul. Scoggin says he hopes to have representatives from all of the Oakwood I.S.D. area on this committee as it is important to have a well rounded group. This is step two of the process. This committee had its first meeting on Monday, August 3.

Discussion topics included whether or not a new elementary building is needed, is now a good time for it, and if we want one, where would it be?

Scoggin said, "I know what I'd like to see happen but, that doesn't mean other people want the same thing. We need to find out if the public is open to the idea."

Scoggin has a philosophy he likes to share, "We want to put kids in the best environment for learning and put the tax payers in the best position financially. Facilities are conducive to learning."

Step three is a plan for the school board to base its decision on the committee's recommendation but, reserving the right to make the final decision. If the school board decides to bring a bond election to the people, there would be a time between early elections and election day where the public would be invited to tour the facilities, ask questions, etc. Having already met with an architectural firm and a financial group, the board would be prepared to answer these questions with all of the necessary facts.

Scoggin said, "Nothing has been done. Nothing has been decided. We wouldn't make any decisions before talking it over with the community. We don't want to jump the gun here. It may and may not go to vote. We just want to be prepared if it does. And if it does, people may be for it or against it but, this way, we'll know they were well informed to make their decision."