The ongoing discussions and negotiations between Oxford and Lafayette regarding a new contract agreement for the School of Applied Technology is nearing its conclusion. During Monday’s Lafayette County School Board meeting, the latest draft of an agreement between the two school districts was unanimously approved by Lafayette’s Board of Trustees. 

Last month, the Oxford School Board of Trustees approved their latest draft of the agreement, which was one year in length instead of the recommended two-year agreement proposed by Lafayette. On Monday, Lafayette’s Board had minor changes to the OSD draft, but approved the majority of the language. 

One change Lafayette made was the naming who will serve as the director for the upcoming year. The current director of ‘The Tech’ is Joey Carpenter. Another change was to have Oxford clarify the renaming of a couple courses that are offered but have since altered their curriculum. 

“I think we’re there. We’ve got an agreement we can live with,” Lafayette County School District superintendent Adam Pugh said.

Oxford’s request to make it a contract that ends after the 2019-20 school year is due their desire to end the current consortium agreement and begin their own program. The way the consortium is currently set up, Oxford cannot be reimbursed. If OSD creates their own program, they will be allowed to recoup any money spent. 

“We did not get the two-year agreement like we wanted,” Pugh said. “We wanted a two-year agreement and Oxford would not agree to that. So, we’ll operate this year and see how things go and start making plans for the future.”

The approved agreement by Lafayette’s board will be up for approval at Oxford School District’s next board meeting on June 24. 

Lafayette also approved the election of their representatives for the OLSAT Board for this upcoming school year. The Board opted to keep current members Brent Larson, Bill McGregor and Kimberly East on as Lafayette’s representatives. Oxford School District also has three OLSAT Board Members as well as OSD superintendent Brian Harvey. Pugh also serves on the Board.