Oakwood ISD calls for a Bond Election

Several weeks ago, the Oakwood School Board formed a special committee consisting of community members from the surrounding areas, as well as Oakwood. Last night, based on the recommendation of that committee, brought to the Board by committee representatives Misti Edgemon and Sheri Smith, the Board voted unanimously to bring a $4 million dollar bond election to the public on November 3, 2009. All members were present at this meeting, except Kim Hardin.

This bond election is being called to build an elementary school. At the present time, Oakwood Elementary is housed in ten-year-old portable buildings. These portable buildings have begun to show a lot of wear and tear and repairs have been numerous. Problems with the plumbing in the restrooms and with the water fountains are one of the larger issues with these portable buildings. With two hundred twenty-nine students currently enrolled in O.I.S.D. and one hundred twenty of being housed in these portable buildings, class size is becoming an issue as well. Each portable building has two classrooms that hold only eighteen to twenty students. As it is, the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades must go to the main building used for the Jr./Sr. high school for Reading classes because there isn't an available classroom in the portable buildings. The library, computer lab, and nurse's station are also located in the main building, away from the Elementary students. The school board is hoping the bond will pass and an Elementary school will be built to relieve all of these issues, and more.

In the weeks to come, there will be several events planned as "open house" opportunities for the public to come to the school, tour it, and have any questions they may have answered by not only the Board and Superintendent Richard Scoggin, but professionals from a licensed architectural firm with a resume including several nearby schools. Scoggin is confident that with the help of the architects, they will be able to answer any and all questions from the community. He is also confident that if people come and see the current conditions, they will agree that the bond is necessary.

Also on the agenda, was the local and state revenue general funds (199 and 240) budget amendments. Regulations require these amendments to be adopted by the Board. Currently, they show a deficit of $6,900. Scoggin said that this deficit was not an issue as several purchases made by the school would be reimbursed by different agencies and would counteract this deficit, therefore; there was no need to rework the budget to cover it. The amendments were unanimously adopted by the Board. The current budget proposal includes a revenue of $3,006,733 and expenditures of $2,998,793. With the increases of several grants and funding on the state level, the school is in a better position than last year. Last year there was a $69,000 deficit. Scoggin said he and the Board were extremely pleased because it looks like they will potentially have about $200,000 surplus in the fund balance this year and will still be able get everything done that they have budgeted for.

Over the last couple of months, the Board has been discussing the need to purchase new vehicles for school use. The board approved the purchase of a new Ford Expedition at $30,340.36 and a new Ford Taurus at $20,361.10. These vehicles will be bought "outright" and were included in the budget.

The Board also approved the 2009-2010 appraisal calendar and the appraisers during this meeting. The appraisers are Scoggin and Judy Thomason. The Board adopted the O.I.S.D. tax rate of $1.04, the same as last year. Scoggin said the board was pleased they didn't have to raise this tax.

Also discussed by the Board was the changes made by the County for voting locations. The County made the decision to consolidate several of the precincts. As there will be new voting locations for some this year, the school will be sending out that information to parents with the first progress reports of the year. This information will be in the "Wednesday Folders" for optimum viewing. Scoggin said he and the Council want to do all they can to make sure the public knows the county made these changes so they won't miss their opportunity to vote. He also wanted to remind the public that early voting will be held at the school, so that option will be available as well.