Two public meetings are scheduled in the Oldham-Ramona School District to discuss district reorganization. Meetings will be held on July 27 at 7 p.m. in Oldham and on Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. in Ramona.
The meetings are being held in response to a petition received from a concerned citizens group. The petition calls for the district to draft a plan to divide the district to create one or more new entities; the plan will then be submitted to the vote of the district for approval.
The petition was filed in April. At that time, Superintendent John Bjorkman said the district had six months to draft the plan and present it to the S.D. Department of Education for approval. Once approved, the plan will be presented to patrons of the district for a public vote.
The petition was filed in response to board members moving forward with plans to build a $1.85 million addition to the Oldham-Ramona School in Ramona.
The project includes demolition of part of the existing gym and construction of a new athletic facility, but the remaining part of the gym will be renovated to create a new kitchen and lunch/multi-purpose room.
The project did not go before district patrons for a vote because state law does not require a public vote if the cost of the project is less than 1.5 percent of the school district's total valuation.
Funding for the project has already been obtained. Board members approved a resolution to obtain capital outlay bonds for the project earlier this spring. Bids on the project were to be opened earlier this summer, but bid opening has been delayed until the end of August when a court hearing is to take place concerning the project.
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