By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa Community School Board held a regular meeting last night and received a presentation from Oskaloosa city officials on a potential agreement regarding the district’s building trades program. Superintendent Mike Fisher spoke at the city’s most recent council meeting and explained that the building trades program typically constructs one single-family home each year, but the district is currently running out of buildable lots, which threatens the long-term sustainability of the program. At last night’s meeting, Fisher said that the district’s goal was to secure 20 lots within the next two years. There was no action item on the agenda for an agreement with the city of Oskaloosa, but the district agreed to continue negotiations with the city; Fisher added that the district is also in talks with the cities of University Park and Beacon to secure additional lots.

The board also set the date for public hearings for an amendment to the certified budget and for the district’s flex funding for May 12, which is the date of their next regularly scheduled meeting.