Oxford Community Schools central administrative offices will be temporary relocating to various areas within Oxford High School and Middle School so construction can begin on the former central administration office.
According to Deputy Superintendent Nancy Kammer, all of the offices at the Administrative Building will be moved to the temporary locations by April 11.
Some offices will relocate prior to that date, Kammer added.
‘Although the temporary moves will be inconvenient due to offices being separated, the overall governance of the district will not be affected,? said Kammer.
Superintendent Dr. William Skilling, his administrative assistant Pat Bono, Kammer and her administrative assistants Carol Micol and Christal Hatch, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum James Schwarz and Communications Coordinator Linda Lewis will be moving to OHS.
Their offices will be in the area that currently house Food Services and Youth Assistance.
Youth Assistance will be permanently located at OMS, effective March 15.
The Business Office will be moving to the second floor of OMS in the old athletic offices and storage areas, while Student Services will be relocating to the Room 225 on the second floor at OMS.
‘The moves are occurring now rather than at the end of the year because the renovations for the child care center need to start this spring in order to complete the conversion prior to the start of the school year,? said Kammer.
Kammer added that it wouldn’t be feasible to stay in the temporary locations due to the need for space in the buildings for students and programs.
In the fall, the OHS Technology Department will be moving into the area currently occupied by administrative staff, in order to make room for the Pre-Engineering program.
The district had previously planned on purchasing the First Baptist Church of Oxford (150 Pontiac St.) and using that for the child care center.
However, it was discovered it would have cost an additional $500,000 for the renovations, bringing the total up to $2.5 million for the project.
The district previously set aside $1.5 million from the $32.735 million bond and to borrow $500,000 to complete the project.
So the district decided to go with plan B, which was renovating the central office, putting the child care center there, and moving downtown into the Meriam Building, located at 10 N. Washington St.
The district still has not closed on the Meriam building and cannot release any details on the potential purchase. Kammer noted that the district would be able to provide that information as soon as it was available.
The temporary move in date to the Meriam building is set for sometime in August or September.
Four Board of Education meetings that were scheduled to take place at the Central Administrative were moved to the LGI room at OHS. Those dates and times are April 19 at 6:30 p.m., May 10 at 6:30 p.m., June 7 at 6:30 p.m. and June 21 at 7 p.m.
All phone lines and web addresses will remain the same to keep contacts convenient.
Dates and location changes for the move will also be posted on the schools website.