Oxford Board of Aldermen Meet August 4 on School Budget, Street Safety

The Oxford Board of Aldermen will meet Tuesday, and this time the meeting won’t be quite as heavy as the meetings were in July.

The Board of Aldermen will discuss many items, but three stand out.

Item Six is an agenda approving various training and certifications for city personnel as well as approval of new taxi drivers. Item 10 is the request of approval of school board budget.

Ward 1 Alderman Jay Hughes said, “This is a state technicality that few understand why it works this way. However, the separate government entity of the Oxford School District must submit its annual budget to the City Board which must approve it.”

He said it would be an interesting and a good opportunity for Oxonians to learn “the real numbers of education.”

For those interested in school budget reform can visit 42ForBetterSchools.org to stay updated on the civilian petition for school budget reform statewide.

Finally, Item 13 is a discussion on the findings from the Complete Street Projects’ pop-ups. A section of University Avenue was briefly altered into two five foot bike lanes that reduced four travel lanes to two as well as adding one turning lane and two or three pedestrian islands or crosswalks throughout July near St. John’s Catholic Church and the University music building.

The study reveals a decrease in average vehicle speed and a higher use of bicycles and walking. Among the responses collected, 60 percent favored a permanent change with 35 percent in opposition. Five percent of the respondents did not know they were in Mississippi.

The Board of Aldermen welcomes the public comments and discussion on the street pop-up.

Callie Daniels is the senior managing editor at HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at callie.daniels@hottytoddy.com.