Oxford Schools is holding two public forums to discuss and get input from residents on the dormitory for international students that could potentially be built and paid for by the Weiming Education Group (WEG), a private Chinese company.
The forums will be held Oct. 16 in the Oxford Middle School Commons and Oct. 20 at Oxford High School’s Fine Arts Center. Both begin at 6:30 p.m.
‘We haven’t really gone out to the public with it yet because we didn’t know what we were doing,? explained Oxford Schools Superintendent Dr. William Skilling at the Oct. 8 regular board meeting. ‘Now, that we have a clear direction, we’re ready to talk to the community about it.?
Much has changed )including size, the number of students, location and architectural firm) since the district laid out conceptual plans last December. Further specific details on those items will be addressed at the public forums.
‘The purpose of the meetings is to give people the chance to give input and ask questions,? Skilling added. ‘It’s going to be much more informative. The budget is pretty close to being done. We’re reviewing all of our staffing to make sure we have everything covered.?
The board is expected to vote on a lease with WEG at its Oct. 22 board meeting.
‘The issue now is they want to have it open and usable by August 2015. Before, we were going for 2016. I guess the architect and construction company they’ve interviewed has said they can do it by August of 2015. The issue is (also) the interest (level) of the students they have ? we don’t have a place for them to go,? he said. ‘In order for them to move forward with the permitting process and everything, the first thing that needs to be in place is they have to have a lease agreement. It’s in the hands of the attorney right now. We’re targeting the (Oct.) 22 (meeting), but we may not make it, so it may need to be at a board meeting the first of November.?
Originally, the project was going to be built on a 13-acre parcel that sits between Oxford High School and Meijer, which was going to be donated by the landowners Burton-Katzman. Now, the residence hall will be located on a small piece of land right at the corner of Ray Road and N. Oxford Road at the edge of the high school’s parking lot. The goal originally was to build a residence hall to house over 500 students.
That has now been scaled back to 200 students.
Understanding that an extra 200 students would ‘add stress in terms of capacity,? Skilling said the new residence hall will contain a minimum of eight classrooms and a cafeteria that will double as a dance class studio.
‘We’ll have all of our dance classes there now,? Skilling said. ‘Right now, we’re using makeshift rooms and so on. We’ll have a much larger space, well over 2,000 square-feet and it will be much more conducive to our dance classes.?
The dormitory will also be used during the day for the Oxford Early College Program, the Oxford Virtual Academy (OVA) and the high school’s dual enrollment programs.
The new designs for the hall were drawn up by Steve Auger & Associates Architects, a Lake Orionbased firm. When asked why they chose a different architect than IDS (Integrated Design Solutions), who was originally hired for the project, Skilling said he had ‘nothing to do with that change,? but noted that he likes the work that Auger & Associates has done up to this point.
‘I had no involvement (with that change) whatsoever. It’s totally a Weiming decision,? he said. ‘It was something I felt they wanted to do ? go out on their own and choose their own architect and own construction management.?
Even though the hall is to be built on school property, the building will be taxable because it’s owned by a private company and the land would be taxable because the school is leasing the property to a private entity (WEG) for profit.
According to Skilling, they would lease the property to WEG for $1. A 75-year lease is being considered.
But whether or not the building and land would be taxable isn’t so clear to Oxford Township Treasurer Joe Ferarri.
‘I was able to further discuss this matter internally and with Township Assessor David Hieber. The tax issue is still a little unclear as of now,? Ferarri wrote in an e-mail to the board. ‘However, at first review, it appears that the new structure built on the Oxford High School property’would be’taxable.?
Ferarri said that it would be taxable, under two scenarios. The first involves a building on leased land.
‘Much like cell towers, buildings on leased land (leased from the schools) would be taxable,? he explained. ‘If that building were to be used as a bus garage, additional school, etc., (specifically exclusively for Oxford Schools and not a separate entity) then, most likely, it would not be taxable.?
Secondly, Ferarri explained that Assessor Hieber suggested that Oxford Schools may want to approach Oxford Township about setting up a PILOT (Payment of Lieu of Tax) Program, much like Hope Senior Housing has done.
‘How this works is that there would be an agreement between Oxford Schools and Oxford Township that would set up the specific taxing parameters,? he said. ‘As has been done in the past, the applicant (Oxford Schools) would have to set up an escrow account to pay for all costs associated with setting up the agreement, including legal fees.?
Also, because the building is being built on school property and the students living there will be (considered) Oxford students, Skilling said the permits and approval process will go through the State of Michigan rather than through Oxford Township and its planning commission.
Ferrari also noted in his letter to the board that (Oxford Township) Supervisor (Bill) Dunn would like Oxford Schools to pull permits through Oxford Township for inspections, instead of just going through the state.
‘That way, we will be able to inspect what is happening on township properties,? he said.
Skilling said discussing the project with the township’s planning commission was already apart of the plan.
‘I already talked to Bill Dunn about scheduling a meeting at some point with the township board to show them as well,? he said.
County perspective
From a county aspect, Executive for Economic Development for Oakland County Matthew Gibb said international relationships and partnerships are the dream and goals for Oakland County.
‘This is what (County Executive L.) Brookes (Patterson’s) vision is for us,? Gibb said. ‘We have 982 multinational corporations from 38 different countries that do business in Oakland County; most of them are global North American headquarters.?
‘Our students can’t be afraid of working in a global market place,? continued Gibb. ‘They can do it from their laptop in the diner in downtown Oxford and be part of the global marketplace. They have to understand the culture, the attitude and the life, and the quality of life of who they’re doing business with.?
Gibbs believes Weiming is a ‘phenomenal partner? for Oxford Schools.
‘I’ve met many, many of the educational institutions in China, on our various trips,? added Gibb. ‘This has been by far the most impressive. I really congratulate you for doing your homework on that.?
What are the benefits?
Oxford High School Principal Todd Dunckley pointed out that not only will the hall give extra space for classrooms as pointed out, but the building can also be used as a revenue generator in the summer time with music competitions and clinics. It even could be used as an IB (International Baccalaureate) Training Center.
‘It also allows us one more iconic display of a quality facility, which our kids are using, which is going to be up-to-date and new? It’s been in our conversation with our partners that they are looking to do something that’s beneficial to us as a community. It’s very important that we send this message of what we’re after,? Dunckley said. ‘I see three (positives) there ? increased space, increased revenue and more global education while maintaining our Oxford way of life.?
In terms of athletics, Oxford High School Athletic Director Mike Watson said the dorms, as used during the summer, would also allow a revenue stream in terms of athletic camps and clinics for coach and referee conferences.
‘Obviously there would be a lot of planning to do to make these things come to fruition, but there is great opportunity that we’re really missing in athletics to help our programs,? Watson said. ‘I think this could be one opportunity for us to really improve our programs through some added revenue and use some spaces that would be available in the summertime as well.?
Todd Bell, chairman of the Oxford Township Planning Commission and a member of the Economic Development Subcommittee, explained the benefit to the community as a whole, not just the school district.
Bell believes the residence hall could be ‘the domino to fall? that would spur a hotel chain to come to Oxford Township. If sports camps and band camps were held at the residence hall, he believes it would bring tourist dollars to Oxford as well.
‘That’s going to bring gasoline dollars, restaurant dollars, hotel dollars, all those types of things. They aren’t big money, but it is money to keep this machine going in Oxford. I think that’s a great idea.?
While the permit fees and such will be paid to the state, the township will get the revenue from water and sewer tap fees.
‘We have a huge sewer bond to pay off. The water and sewer tap fees are not going to be cheap on this building because of the nature and the amount of water and sewer it’s going to consume,? he said. ‘It’s a small item, but it’s a lesser burden (for) the residents, because this is going to be built and offset some of those bond dollars.?
‘From the Oxford Township Planning Commission and the Economic Development Committee, we really favor this project and support it,? he added.
While there is money to be made for the county, money for the township and money for sports and the district, there is also money to be made for the students.
According to Skilling, when an international student comes for the first year the district would receive the State Foundation Allowance, which is currently $7,345 per student and they receive $10,000 per student in tuition. All foundation dollars, he said, go to the general fund, which supports all students, supports salaries, operations and heating and cooling.
Meanwhile, tuition dollars go to support the OIRA (Oxford International Residence Academy) program.
For second-year students, the district would only receive the tuition dollars, but Skilling said they would continue to subtract the foundation allowance amount out of that $10,000 and put it in the district’s general fund, while the remainder goes toward the OIRA program.
‘When I say OIRA program, I am talking about the services we provide that would go above and beyond because we’re working with international students, including additional support for all language learners at the high school as well as at-risk students,? Skilling said. ‘We provide academic support, ESL (English as a Second Language,) ACT training and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). TOEFUL is for students who don’t speak English as their first language and ACT is for any student that wants support.?
Out of the $2 million dollars generated from tuition fees ($10,000 multiplied by 200 students equals $2 million), Skilling is hoping to eventually get a 20 percent ‘return on investment? through tuition dollars, which would be about $400,000. That return on investment dollars would then be put toward maintenance of facilities around the district snf where current needs are such as parking lots and roof repairs.
However, he emphasized that he ‘doesn’t want to get lost in the money side of things and that isn’t the primary purpose of why we do what we do at Oxford.?
‘Why we went with a world language program was to help our kids compete in a global economy. Why we went with a student exchange program was to up the ante and make it a more authentic situation for our kids to learn their world language and learn other cultures,? Skilling said. ‘When you do things like this you start to think how you an develop this into a revenue stream. It wasn’t the revenue stream that started it off, it was the educational value and that’s what we’re committed to.?
Hao Lin, chairman and chief executive officer of WEG, agreed.
‘With the beauty of this center, I hope that we can map and bridge the two education cultural systems of the United States and China and make it into one. The establishment of this joint system will enable our staff, our students and others to blend educational systems and learn from each other’s merits,? Lin explained. ‘This would also be commune for Chinese education to enter and benefit from American education and vice-versa.?