OISD holds Bond Election meeting in St. Paul

OISD Superintendent Richard Scoggin, along with school board members Terry Johnson and Nathan Smith and Board President Mack Botard were in attendance at last night's bond election meeting at St. Paul Community Center. According to Scoggin, "I'm not here to tell you to vote yes or no on this bond election. You'll have to decide that for yourself. I'm just here to give you the facts and clear up a few misunderstandings."

Scoggin started out with a power point presentation that showed what he called the "footprint plan". That is a generic building plan that an architect came up with to show a possible location for a new elementary school facility. Scoggin very carefully explained that this model was in no way a "done deal". The board just wanted something to show the community so they could get an idea of what "could be". He went on to explain how teachers, parents, community members, and even student input will contribute to where and what will be built if the bond is passed.

Scoggin also cleared up a few questions he had fielded over the last couple of weeks. He said no bids had been accepted on anything. He assured the crowd that only "if" a bond is passed can you "then" obtain bids by contractors. Another question he had been asked: "I heard you already have an architect." (Which is more of a statement than a question.) Scoggin said, "Yes, we did get an architect to work with us." He then went on to explain how "not one penny has changed hands and won't until the bond is passed." If the bond does pass, a percentage fee will be charged by the architect for his consultation fee. Even at that time, there is no obligation to hire that architect to draw up the actual building plans. He also wanted to clear up a notion that the bond would be a 30-year plan. Scoggin said, "We are shooting for a 20-year note." He also went on to say that it was up to the board but it might be possible to pay it off earlier ("maybe in 15 years") if they were careful with the money.

Scoggin went on to explain the reasons for asking for a bond election at this time, how much it could possibly cost, and how the money would be potentially spent. He took time to explain how the money obtained from this bond could only be used for building and remodeling and not for things such as salaries.

After Scoggin finished his power point presentation, he opened the floor up to questions. A question brought up by Ronnie Watt referred to rumors of OISD getting "swallowed up by surrounding school districts". Scoggin told him that is always a possibility for any small school. Doris Owens added, "If a school dies, the town dies." Scoggin assured them both that he and the school board had no intention of letting that happen. He said they would do everything in their power to keep the school not only going but putting out a "top notch education". At the end of the question and answer time, Mike Thomason made a statement that started a buzz of agreement. He said, "The cost of an education is not cheap, but the cost of a poor education is something you can't afford."

The next meeting on the school bond election will be held Tuesday night at 6:30PM at the Oakwood School Auditorium. Early voting will begin on Monday, April 26, 2010 from 8AM to 4PM at the School Administration Building.