The Oakwood School Board has allocated $5,574,000 for an addition to Oakwood Grade School. The district sold $3 million in working cash bonds and will utilize ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds to cover the remaining costs.
The addition will bring an additional 15,000 overall sq. ft. to Oakwood Grade School, including 11,000 classroom sq. ft. of classroom space, 11 new classrooms in total, with additional space being filled with a band room, a new secure entrance for the junior high and a new set of restrooms.
AMERESCO is expected to begin construction this fall. It is anticipated that that project that will house the seventh and eighth-grade students will be completed by the fall of 2022.
It is projected that this project will save the district $6.8 million over a 20-year period, not including the potential sale of the Oakwood Junior High Building.
The Oakwood district isn’t done thinking about the future with the upcoming addition, though.
They are also exploring the possibility of renovating the current cafeteria and multipurpose room that will include a new gym for extracurricular activities and lunchroom enhancement; renovating the current courtyard playground with new equipment and inclusion for special needs students and renovating the current playground south of the soccer field with a path that provides accessibility and inclusion for our special needs students.
Those discussions with the school board building/grounds committee, the grade school, and junior high school staff and principals will begin once the initial construction of the outer shell begins.
The district will also engage with the community outside of traditional board meetings (where this plan was discussed throughout the summer of 202) beginning on Aug. 25 with the district’s Strategic Planning process.
The first meeting is scheduled for 5:30 to 8:30 that night in the Oakwood Grade School multipurpose room. The district intends to adopt a plan by December 2021.
The Core Stakeholder team plans to answer the following questions:
- Why do we exist as a school district—what is the main purpose that we serve?
- What do we value—how do we function (or behave) on a day-to-day basis?
- What’s our vision—where’s our district headed in the future?
- What are our goals—what are we going to do to get us there?
- And Complete a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats (SWOT) analysis.
Superintendent Larry Maynard also welcomes questions on ESSER funding or upcoming plans at maynardl@oakwood76.org.
The district spent additional ESSER dollars on the following items:
ESSER II Federal Funding & Spending Plan = $987,128
- Software Go Guardian Google Management
- New PC and Monitor for all teachers
- New PC and Monitor for all district labs
- Promethean Boards for OHS and OJHS
- Touchless Hand Dryers for OGS and OHS Restrooms
- Touchless sinks and Lavatories for OGS and OHS Restrooms
- Bus Cameras
- Cleaning Supplies
ESSER III Federal Funding & Spending Plan = $2,200,000
- Set aside money for bridging the learning gap
- Renaissance NWEA (MAP) IXL OGS Interventionist
- More classroom aides if needed
- New Phonics Curriculum at OGS
- New Social Studies Curriculum at OJHS
- New Math Curriculum at OGS & OJHS
- New Language Arts Curriculum at OJHS
- New Writing Program at OGS
- New Typing Program at OGS
- Set aside money for teacher resources throughout the school year
