June Update
Linda Lyon, President, Oracle School District Governing Board
The Oracle School District Governing Board is very pleased to announce the district’s capital bonds sold in the municipal bond marketplace on May 21. All bonds sold, enabling the entire $13.2M approved by voters to be available soon for district projects.
Although community members were offered the opportunity to purchase the bonds and a couple expressed interest to Stifel, in the end none opted to participate. This is likely because we locked in one of the lowest interest rates seen in many decades and purchase of the bonds only made sense for corporate high-volume buyers.
As of the end of May, our architectural firm, BWS, continues to develop the master site plan, ensuring all projects work together and are properly time-sequenced to ensure the most effective and efficient use of available monies.
At the same time, our district staff has been working hard to secure building renewal grants from the Arizona School Facilities Board for critical projects not covered by the bond sale. Last year, the district received $46K in funding for new bleachers for our gymnasium and currently has funding commitments from the SFB for $24K for the damaged cafeteria flooring, $24K for one large roofing project, and another $2.5K for the initial assessment for another large roofing project.
Your governing board and district administration are committed to ensuring we deliver to our students and their families, to our taxpayers, and to our communities.
Mountain Vista K-8 School Update – Hello Summer!
Crystle Nehrmeyer, Superintendent
On May 20, the 2019-20 school year officially ended for students and staff at Mountain Vista K-8 School. Although the end of the school year looked different due to COVID-19 and school closures, the feeling of small town roots and global expectations was as strong as ever.
We proudly promoted 37 students to the ninth grade during our online eighth grade promotion ceremony, including Mariah Villalba, salutatorian; and Avery Jennings, valedictorian. Awards and scholarships were presented to 17 students during the ceremony. Scholarships were made available for hard working students through the fundraising efforts of our student council, National Junior Honor Society, and generous donations from community members. Our teachers visited the homes of each eighth-grade student and left a surprise yard sign to congratulate each of our promoting students.
Immediately following the online ceremony, a community parade started at Mountain Vista K-8 School, cruised down American Avenue, and ended at the courthouse. Members of the class of 2020 from across the Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, and Catalina area were recognized for their academic achievement. The parade was kindly escorted by Pinal County Sheriff’s Department and the Oracle Fire District.
We will continue to provide free breakfast and lunch for the children in our community each morning from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Mountain Vista K-8 School Parking Lot at 2618 W El Paseo in Oracle through June 30. Due to social distancing and precautions, summer school will not be offered this term.
We will continue to share information with our community throughout the summer regarding the return to school in August. We encourage our community to visit osd2.org and click the “Community” tab throughout the summer for video updates and information.