OXFORD – Oxford’s school board spent three hours Thursday night refining each of the three options they are considering for a capital project.
The district’s enrollment, which has been on the decline for much of the last decade, is projected to drop by another 10 percent in the next five years. Using projected enrollment figures for the 2012 school year, the school board re-evaluated project options provided by Bernier Carr & Associates, the architectural consulting firm retained last year.
The fate of the landmark Middle School building, constructed in 1930, hangs in the balance. It would remain in its capacity as a middle school in only one of the three options before the board.
The first identified option, Option 1, leaves the district’s grade configuration “as is.” The plan proposes extensive renovation and restoration of the historic Middle School building, flood mitigation efforts and upgrades to the Primary/High School campus across town.
In Option 2, the Middle School would remain in use as an educational facility but would house Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 2. Grades 3 and higher would be located in the current Primary/High School campus. This option would require even more extensive remodels of existing buildings, but less extensive flood mitigation measures.
Option 3 would move all students to a Pre K through 12 campus at the site of the Primary/High School building. An addition would be added to accommodate the move of grades 5 through 8 from the current Middle School. The newest wing of the Middle School would be demolished and the building used as a bus garage and storage/administration building.
“We assessed our programs and tried to assess each of those rough options,” said school board President Robin DeBrita.
According to DeBrita, the board of education established four goals for the capital project during the early planning stages.
Those objectives, summarized DeBrita, were to expand and improve the district’s physical education facilities; to bring grades 7 through 12 subject area teachers under one roof; to expand and improve the fine arts, technology, media and science facilities; and to upgrade the athletic facilities.
Using future classroom, program and staffing needs as a guide, the board looked at how each of the three building options met those objectives.
Even in the current configuration, declining enrollment means fewer classrooms will be needed by 2012. Board members were mindful of that fact as they began slashing square footage from the proposed addition included in Options 2 and 3, which as drawn would have added more than 30,000 square feet to the district’s foot print.
“There’s some wiggle room,” said Superintendent Randy Squier.
“I think we need to keep as much flexibility as possible,” said board member Mark Roach.
The board spent the majority of the three-hour workshop going through the plans with a fine-toothed comb, identifying numerous areas where classrooms could be reconfigured to meet students program needs. The result of their efforts will be forwarded to the architect so that floor plans and cost estimates can be updated to reflect those changes.
“Our goal, of course, is that we want something pretty solid to give back to the facility advisory committee,” explained DeBrita.
The advisory committee, formed in the Spring of 2007, consists of district administrators, school staff members, parents and community members. The committee is scheduled to meet to review the project options on Nov. 19. According to committee member Anna Stark, it will be the first time the group has met in more than six months.
The district’s business manager, Harold Covey, discussed the availability of Excel aid from the New York State Education Department as crucial to the timing of the proposed capital project. Oxford could miss out on that funding if the project isn’t locked in soon, said Covey.
By undertaking the construction project under the Excel umbrella, the work could be done with little burden on local taxpayers, he said.
“Because we are in such a low income, low wealth area, it does a lot for us,” said Covey, pointing out the district’s current aid ratio of 98 percent.
“Of course, there is going to be a taxpayer share,” he added, “but two percent is very low considering what you’d be getting.”
“Building projects do not start and end quickly,” said Covey. “The larger the project, the larger the span in getting it completed.”
The district’s last capital project, which involved construction of the new high school, was begun in 2000. According to the business manager, it was just closed out in the 2007-08 school year.
A group of district residents has begun to question the necessity of a building project at this time, particularly in light of the current economic climate, declining enrollment and the historic value of the Middle School building. The group is expressing its opposition to the proposed capital project by circulation a petition to district taxpayers. When complete, the petition will be presented to the district’s board of education.
While the proposed capital project does not appear on the agenda for tonight’s school board meeting, district residents are welcome to attend. There is an opportunity for public comment near the conclusion of the meeting. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Primary School Multipurpose Room, recently renamed the Blackhawk Forest.