Oxford Community Schools has nixed its plans to buy a local church to house its preschool programs and is instead, looking to purchase a historic building in downtown Oxford with the intention of moving the district’s central administration and board of education offices there.
During a Jan. 29 special meeting, the school board approved the issuance of a purchase agreement for the Meriam building (shown right), located at 10 N. Washington St. and owned by local builder Dave Weckle.
When asked what the price tag is for the building, Superintendent Dr. William Skilling replied, ‘I can’t share that right now because the seller doesn’t want to divulge that in case we don’t purchase it.?
‘Once we know for sure we’re closing on it, the seller has no problem with us disclosing the price,? he said.
Due diligence will be conducted by the district over the next 60 days to determine whether the building, constructed in 1912, meets all requirements and if it will be cost-effective to remodel.
The district wants a ‘downtown presence? along M-24 because it’s beneficial from a marketing standpoint.
‘Being on M-24 brings a lot more exposure to the school district,? Skilling said. ‘You have thousands of cars that drive up and down M-24 everyday. It gives us the ability to better market our school district to people driving up and down M-24 on a daily basis.?
It also helps stimulate the local economy, according to the superintendent, because it gives district employees the opportunity to patronize downtown businesses when they visit the central office for professional development meetings.
‘At lunchtime, those people are in walking distance to eight different restaurants in the downtown area,? Skilling said.
The Meriam building offers plenty of room for the central office. The first and second floors have a combined 7,200 square feet, plus there’s a lower level with two very large rooms, which Skilling said would be perfect for professional development sessions.
Not much remodeling work needs to be done outside of some cosmetic changes, according to the superintendent.
Once the central administrators move into their new downtown digs, their old building at 105 Pontiac St., which is a little over 8,000 square feet, will be converted into a preschool/childcare center.
Originally, the district had planned to purchase the First Baptist Church of Oxford (150 Pontiac St.) for just under $1 million, then spend another $1 million renovating the building to suit its needs.
The district planned to pay for it by using $1.5 million from the $32.735 million bond approved by voters in November, then borrowing an additional $500,000.
However, after conferring with the state on what it would take to bring the building up to code, it was determined that an additional $500,000 in renovations would be necessary, bringing the total project cost up to $2.5 million.
‘It simply got beyond our cost and means to be able to do that project,? Skilling said. ‘It got to the point where we didn’t feel comfortable borrowing $1 million with the operational budget being as tight as it is. It was just too risky for us to continue to pursue it. That’s why we had to look for an alternative solution for the preschool program.?
Money aside, even if the district had decided to borrow another $1 million and move ahead with the church renovation, kids 0-3 years old could not attend there because the state requires all exits must be at ground level for those ages.
‘With kids that age, you have to carry them out of the building in case there’s a fire,? Skilling said. ‘There’s plenty of room (at the church). That wasn’t the issue. It became an egress issue.?
So, the district decided to fall back on a Plan B that was always a possibility ? converting the central office building.
‘This building would work very well for a preschool program,? Skilling said. ‘We can renovate this building for really a low cost because it’s just basically some drywall construction that has to be changed to accommodate the different programs.?
The superintendent noted it’s also a ‘convenient? location for parents and there’s room to grow as the building ‘can be easily added on to? in order to meet future growth.
But not all the preschool programs would be relocated there. Skilling indicated preschools would still be housed at Lakeville and Leonard elementaries.
‘That’s always been our plan,? he said.
Skilling said the combined cost of purchasing the Meriam building, remodeling it and converting the existing central office into a preschool center ‘is projected to be within our bond budget of $1.5 million.?
Based on preliminary estimates from the architect, ‘we could probably do the whole thing for less than $1.5 million,? he said.
As such, the district would no longer have to borrow the additional $500,000 it originally anticipated for the church purchase/renovation.