Oxford High School and Oxford Middle School are brimming with newness: new furniture, new computers, new equipment. So what exactly happens when the new comes in and the old moves out? Where does the old furniture, the old computers and the old equipment go?
According to Oxford Schools Assistant Superintendent Ron Franey, little bits of ‘the old? went everywhere.
‘At the middle school, the first thing we did was to invite all of the elementary principals in so that they could take what they wanted, filing cabinets, teachers desks, tables and such,? explained Franey. ‘After that, we contacted other school districts and asked them if they were in need of anything. We also had several districts contact us.?
In fact, Franey explained that some of the used furniture was returned to an administrator who donated it to the district in the first place. Franey stated that there were several pieces of furniture donated to Oxford by a former Lake Orion administrator when he was still with the Dragons. That administrator is now with another school district. Franey made contact with the previous Lake Orion official and found that his new district could use the furniture.
‘It ended up sort of back where it came from,? Franey laughed.
District officials did have three classrooms worth of desks stored for possible future use, as well as any left over filing cabinets and teachers desks. In addition, Franey stated that school employees were allowed to request any items not already spoken for or assigned.
‘Some without a doubt was gotten rid of and thrown away because it was just so bad – some of that furniture was 20 years old or more,? said Franey. ‘We tried to get rid of all the orange stuff in the building as well.?
At the new high school, very little of ‘the old? was removed. Franey stated that all of the furniture that had been there when the building was the middle school remained. Franey said new furniture was purchased to ‘fill in? the new classrooms and additions.
As for computers, both OHS and OMS received plenty of new ones through the current bond issue. According to Franey, the majority of the older computers from the buildings were redistributed throughout the district; however, there were some that were just too old to use or hold any of the new educational programs being used.
‘We had to contract a computer equipment company in order to have these machines removed,? Franey explained. ‘Because of components in the monitors and such, and just the age of the machines, they have to be disposed of properly.?
Finally, the district purchased through the bond issue a new fitness center and lots of equipment for the high school. Franey explained that any weight lifting or fitness equipment that had previously belonged to the high school was left for the middle school; however, he added that some of this was thrown away because of poor condition.
‘Otherwise we kept all of it at the middle school and restocked the high school,? he stated.
‘We either used or redistributed anything old around the district,? concluded Franey. ‘We used, or gave it to someone who could use, anything in good condition.?