SAT Contract Closer to Approval by Oxford, Lafayette Schools

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

If the Oxford School District approves the final version of the joint agreement between it and the Lafayette County School District regarding the operation of the School of Applied Technology during its June meeting, the SAT board and the school will continue to operate “as is” for at least one more year.

On Monday, the Lafayette County School District Board approved the latest version of the contract that was approved by the OSD last month. However, a few minor changes and clarifications were added by the LCSD’s attorney, Shae Scott, so the contract will have to be approved again by the OSD before it’s finalized.

Scott said he forwarded the revised contract to the OSD last week but hadn’t heard back from the district.

After the meeting Monday evening, OSD Superintendent Brian Harvey told Hottytoddy.com that he didn’t see any “sticking points” in the revised copy he saw recently and expects the OSD Board of Trustees to pass the contract on June 24.

The contract will allow keeping the SAT board intact for the 2019-2020 school year and then the board will be disbanded since the OSD expressed its intent to leave the consortium with LCSD and create its own Career Technology Education program so it can receive funding from the state.

The year will give the two school districts time to work on how the school will be managed moving forward since both school districts jointly own the building and the land where The Tech is located. Both school districts have previously stated their wishes to continue The Tech and offering the programs to benefit all Oxford and Lafayette County students.

However, the LCSD board and Superintendent Adam Pugh have also expressed concerns on how Lafayette County will continue to be able to afford to fund The Tech without the partnership with the OSD.

Harvey has stated he believes the two districts can enter into a different kind of contractual agreement that will allow each district to run their own CTE programs and still jointly use The Tech and keep the school running.