Red Oak CSD breaks ground on renovation projects
The Red Oak School District held a special groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the upcoming renovation projects now underway at the Red Oak High School and Inman Primary.
The projects were made possible by the passing of a $19.9 million bond issue passed by Red Oak voters last year.
Alley Poyner Macchietto architect Daric O’Neal, who is coordinating the project, spoke during the ceremony, and said he felt overwhelming gratitude.
“I have a lot of emotion about the project. I haven’t really had enough time to stop and think about how great this process has been, and that we’ve finally gotten to the point where we can kick off this building project. This event has also brought together the people who participated in community engagement meetings, focus groups, and all of the heroes from the Heroes 17 campaign, who made this all possible,” O’Neal said.
Superintendent Tom Messinger also expressed his gratitude to all of the volunteers and district staff members who helped make the renovation project a reality, and the community’s taxpayers.
“Those taxpayers went to the meetings, shared their input, and got out to vote. The turnout for the vote was incredible, and the results showed loud and clear that the community supports our kids and our schools. Between the general obligation bonds and the SAVE dollars, our students will be benefitting from over $29 million invested in the future of education in Red Oak. I appreciate everyone who was there for our young people throughout the entire process,” said Messinger.
Red Oak School Board president Mark Johnson also spoke during the ground breaking ceremony.Johnson said it was an exciting day for him.
“It’s been a long process. Classes are over, and we’re in the process of moving everything out, and very soon we’ll be seeing the construction crews going to work,” Johnson said.
Johnson added as the community changes, the district needed to be able to change as well.
“Back in the early days of the Red Oak District, Superintendent J.R. Inman served from 1914 to 1944. He had a vision for the town of Red Oak to have an elementary school building in every neighborhood so every child would be within walking distance from school. When I started school in the 1950s, that’s exactly how it was,” commented Johnson.
According to Johnson, the model served the community well for many years until enrollment started to decline.
“In 1970, the first graduating class from our current high school building was over 150 students. By 1983, it was 116, in 1994, it was around 92, and today, it’s about 80. In recent years, the Red Oak District has taken a different path than the one set out by J.R. Inman. The passing of this bond issue and completing this project will move us closer to our goal of a two-building campus, allowing the district to spend more of their dollars not on buildings, but what we’re here for: Educating students,” said Johnson.
Johnson also said the bond issue passage sent a message to the youth of the community, that the community was willing to invest in them.
“$20 million is a lot of money. Many of those taxpayers would have likely wanted to spend that money on other things. Instead, they chose to invest that money on our youth, to help them become better people, give them an opportunity to improve their lives, and to be able to achieve their goals. I hope the students are aware of the commitment the community is making to them,” said Johnson.
Johnson also expressed his gratitude to all those who volunteered and who showed their support to the bond issue.