By James Hanlon
Leader Staff Writer
Oxford Community Schools wasted no time getting to work on the 2017 improvement bond work this summer, beginning some projects even before the school year ended. The district aims to complete the projects in just a 60-day time span, according to Supt. Tim Throne.
The work is part of the third and final series of the $28.28 million bond proposal that voters approved in November 2017. The bond projects are ahead of schedule, with Series 2 finished last summer. Last year, the school board took advantage of low interest rates by selling the Series 3 bonds earlier than planned to save taxpayer money, said Sam Barna, assistant superindendent of business and operations for the district.
The Series 3 projects will cover door and hardware replacements at all five elementary schools, OMS and OHS. Exterior lighting will be added and upgraded. Parking lots and sidewalks will be replaced at OHS, OMS, Lakeville Elementary, Transportation Building and Wildcat Drive. Leonard elementary will get a new parking lot in the northeast corner, in addition to replacing the old lot. And, OHS will get an exterior finish system and skylight improvements.
This summer’s work is already about a week ahead of schedule, despite the recent rains. They have already installed an underground detention system in the high school’s west parking lot, light poles have been replaced, new exterior wall lighting has been added, new dugouts for the JV baseball field have been built, parking lots and sidewalks have been demolished, and new rooftop air-conditioning has been installed, according to district updates. Demolition work has begun at the other schools.
The work is managed by Clark Construction.