Oxford School District Construction Projects Move Forward

By Alyssa Schnugg
Staff writer
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Repairs to the football press box and bleachers at the Bobby Holcomb Field are expected to be complete by the time football season starts.

The press box and a portion of the stands in front of it were damaged when heavy rains created a sinkhole in April.
The cost to the OSD to fix the box and bleachers was about $250,000.
According to an update on district construction projects given to the OSD Board of Trustees Monday, the press box and stands are now stabilized. Electrical work is going on this week and the removal of sand at the bottom of the bleachers is still ongoing.
The weather is also to blame for damage to the Oxford Intermediate School library after the roof had a drain failure in June. The library and the school entrance were flooded. The carpet will be replaced in the library and employee offices; however, the office foyer and hall entrance to the library will be replaced with ceramic tiles. The work is expected to be complete by July 31.
Other work going on at OIS includes extending and painting the stage, installing new lighting and preparing a slab for fitness equipment purchased with a $25,000 grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield.
On Monday, construction manager Casey Rogers, with Innovative Construction Management, asked the board to approve upping the budget amount for the addition of a fine arts building at OIS from $1.3 million to $1.5 million.
“The current price of construction is a bit higher than it was when this project was first looked at several months ago,” Rogers said.
Bids came in last month for the project over budget and were rejected. Rogers said by making some minor changes to the project, he felt by upping the budget by the $200,000, that at least one of the bids would come in at budget.
The board approved the increase to the budget unanimously. New bids will be opened on Aug. 23.