One of the final pieces of Oxford School District’s latest bond issue will soon begin to be put into place.

During a special meeting to discuss their 2019-2020 budget, the Oxford School District Board of Trustees approved the budget to build a new baseball and softball field.

The fields will be located on the north side of Oxford High School’s campus. Once completed they will serve as the new home for Oxford High’s baseball and softball fields, which are currently located on the Oxford Middle School campus.

“It’s too much to do all of the activities at one time. You’ll never get that done,” OSD superintendent Brian Harvey said. “We needed to do something. I think initially, we were thinking of doing the football stadium first, but that would have been $12 to $14 million, so that’s not really a possibility. So, getting something out there where we can get some momentum, of course the fine arts building, it is another step closer to completing that campus.”

The only action the board took was to approve the budget for the project, which is estimated at $5,773,913.87. Advertisements for bids by Innovative Construction Management will begin today with bids anticipated to be accepted and approved by the board in late August.

Oxford Intermediate gym needs repairs

The gym floor at the Oxford Intermediate School must be torn out and replaced after a mishap ruined the current floor. During Monday’s meeting, the board discussed the matter and will officially declare an emergency to repair the floor during their regular meeting on July 29.

Stripper was placed on the gym floor, causing the need for the floor to be completely redone. It will cost roughly $103,000. It is the second gym floor in the school district needing emergency repairs after Oxford High School’s gym floor needed repairs following a mishap during installation of poles for a volleyball net during the fall of 2017.