On Tuesday night, the Oxford Schools Board of Education discussed a reimbursement resolution, affirming its intent to issue bonds or notes for the construction of the district capital improvement plan.

If the resolution is approved, the district will initially pay for the first steps of projects out of the general fund.

However, the district would reimburse the same once the first set of bond proceeds are collected by the district.

The reimbursement resolution would allow district officials to get a head-start and to begin preparing bid documents for bond related-work as soon as March of 2018, according to Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Sam Barna.

The district’s bonds will be sold in three installments (or series) to reduce the total amount of interest. Each series will net around $9 million in proceeds.

The reimbursement resolution would only apply to the first series of projects, according to Barna.

The district will sell its first set of bonds in the late spring/early summer of 2018 with actual construction of the district’s first set of projects likely to begin next summer.

The passage of a reimbursement resolution would allow district officials to begin the design and documentation process, according to Barna.

By law, school districts are authorized to reimburse general fund budgets using bond proceeds only if the board has approved a resolution to do so. Funds spent towards bond-related projects out of the general fund budget must also be carefully tracked to ensure a legal reimbursement, according to Barna.

In Series One, scheduled to be completed between 2018 to 2020, district officials are planning to add building-wide air conditioning to each of the elementary schools.

Worn carpeting, located within Daniel Axford Elementary’s first and second-floor hallways, is scheduled to be replaced along with the school’s aging boiler. At Oxford High School, damaged roofing sections found over the 300, 400 and 500 classrooms will be replaced, along with an air-handling unit located within the same wing.

Officials are also planning to purchase a minimum of 10 new buses in the first series. The board is expected to vote on this issue at its next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 27.