Superintendent announces Oakwood School District office will move to 400 Sugar Camp Circle

The Superintendent announced that the Oakwood School District office will move to a new leased location at 400 Sugar Camp Circle on April 22 under a seven‑year lease, citing repeated building failures and the current site’s lack of ADA compliance.

In a prepared statement to the board, the Superintendent said the historic house at 20 Rubicon Road ‘‘suffered from basement flooding, persistent HVAC issues, a worsening roof’’ and is ‘‘not ADA compliant,’’ creating barriers for staff and community members with mobility needs. He said architects evaluated renovating the Rubicon property but concluded the cost and remaining limitations would not make it a prudent long‑term investment.

The Superintendent framed the Sugar Camp lease as providing immediate ADA access, greater operational efficiency for roughly 12 district personnel who have been working out of two classrooms at Smith Elementary, and ‘‘future flexibility’’ while the district completes a master facilities assessment. He acknowledged there is an educational cost associated with the move but called it a ‘‘critical expenditure’’ for district operations including background checks, personnel management, professional learning and finance processing.

The Superintendent gave the April 22 move date and said staff will remain available at Smith Elementary until the new space opens. The announcement described the lease length as seven years but did not provide a lease start date beyond the planned opening or contract details about rent or fiscal impact.

The board did not record a formal vote or approval of the lease in the provided transcript; the statement was presented as a superintendent update. The Superintendent invited community members to visit the new space when it opens.