Oak Ridge Board of Education Archives

City celebrates two major projects—Preschool, Senior Center—with groundbreakings

Posted at 12:53 pm January 21, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The City of Oak Ridge held ceremonial groundbreakings on Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, to celebrate the start of two major projects: the new Oak Ridge Preschool, pictured above, with Scarboro Park improvements and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. Construction activity is already under way at both sites, and the buildings are slated for completion later this year. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge held ceremonial groundbreakings on Monday, January 14, to celebrate the start of two major projects: the new Oak Ridge Preschool with Scarboro Park improvements and the new Oak Ridge Senior Center. Construction activity is already under way at both sites, and the buildings are slated for completion later this year.

“These projects have been in the planning stages for decades and we are making good on promises to deliver them,” Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch said in a press release. “The Preschool and the Senior Center will have a positive impact on our citizens and their families for generations to come. We are excited to see construction begin.”

Studio Four Design Inc. was chosen to design the Preschool and the Senior Center. At a special meeting in October 2018, Oak Ridge City Council unanimously approved resolutions awarding construction contracts to Jenkins and Stiles LLC totaling just more than $11 million ($8.4 million for the new Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements and $2.68 million for the new Senior Center). General obligation bonds were sold in late November to completely fund the projects.

“After years of discussion, plans for these important facilities are coming to fruition,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said in the press release. “The Preschool and Senior Center are welcome additions to our community. We are appreciative of all the hard work that has gone into making these amenities a reality for Oak Ridge.” [Read more…]

Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council

Posted at 10:34 pm November 6, 2018
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Warren Gooch

Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.

The four incumbents—Mayor Warren Gooch, Council members Kelly Callison and Ellen Smith, and Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn—were re-elected to four-year terms on Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday, according to unofficial election results in Anderson and Roane counties.

The final results mirrored the results of early and absentee ballots in Anderson County.

There were four City Council seats up for regular election and five candidates for those seats.

Gooch had the most votes Tuesday, a total of 7,916 in the two counties (6,774 in Anderson County and 1,142 in Roane County). Gooch also had the highest number of votes in the transitional 2014 election, his first City Council election. [Read more…]

Election 2018: Progress PAC endorsements for City Council, School Board

Posted at 8:38 am November 6, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Note This story was updated at 10 a.m.

Four candidates for Oak Ridge City Council and all three candidates running for Oak Ridge Board of Education running in the election today (Tuesday, November 6) have earned endorsements by Progress PAC.

Three City Council incumbents—Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Ellen Smith, and Kelly Callison—received the PAC endorsements as did Tim Stallings, who previously served on the City Council in the 1990s.

School Board candidates Laura McLean, Ben Stephens, and Erin Webb—who are all serving on the BOE now and are running unopposed—also received the political action committee’s nod, a press release said.

Progress PAC, which was created by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce but which operates independently, endorses City Council and School Board candidates who ask for the committee’s support and who are supportive of the Chamber’s mission, vision, and key legislative priorities, the press release said. [Read more…]

Forum for Oak Ridge City Council, Board of Education candidates is Tuesday

Posted at 2:06 pm October 12, 2018
By Mary Uziel Leave a Comment

The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge will sponsor a candidate forum on Tuesday, October 16, at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater. Candidates running for Oak Ridge City Council and Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to participate, a press release said.

The five candidates for a four-year term on City Council are Kelly Callison, R.G. “Rick” Chinn Jr., Warren Gooch, Ellen D. Smith, and Timothy L. Stallings. Four council members will be elected. Derrick M. Hammond is the only candidate running to fill the unexpired two-year term left by Council member Hans Vogel when he resigned earlier this year.

The three candidates for a four-year term on the Oak Ridge Board of Education are Laura McLean, Benjamin J. Stephens, and Erin S. Webb. Three board members will be elected. [Read more…]

Council to consider $11.1 million in construction contracts for Preschool, Senior Center

Posted at 10:37 am October 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A rendering of the new Oak Ridge Preschool at Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge/Studio Four Design)

The Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Thursday will consider $11.1 million in construction contracts for the new Oak Ridge Preschool, Oak Ridge Senior Center, and Scarboro Park improvements.

The contracts could both be awarded to Jenkins and Stiles LLC of Knoxville.

There were four bidders for the Senior Center project and three for the Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements, according to Jacene Phillips, senior project manager for Studio Four Design. Her company recommended both contracts be awarded to Jenkins and Stiles because of cost, but also because the Senior Center could be operating two months earlier under that contract than under any other bid and the Preschool would be complete three days before it would be under the other bids, Phillips said.

Both projects would be funded through general obligation bonds, a type of debt that could be issued in November.

The first contract that could be awarded Thursday is for the construction of the Preschool and improvements to Scarboro Park. The contract would be worth up to about $8.4 million. The Preschool would be built at Scarboro Park. [Read more…]

Community meeting next week to discuss new preschool, amenities at Scarboro Park

Posted at 12:57 pm August 20, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

An image showing what the Oak Ridge Schools Preschool could look like in Scarboro Park. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge and Studio Four Design)

Project could move into bid phase in September

As plans progress for the new Oak Ridge Preschool and Scarboro Park improvements, Oak Ridge municipal leaders will provide an update on the project during a community meeting on Thursday, August 30. The meeting is scheduled from 5:30 to 7 p.m. next Thursday at the Scarboro Community Center. Discussions will focus on recreational amenities in Scarboro Park as well as the current status and next steps for the preschool, a press release said.

WHAT: Community meeting on Scarboro Park and new preschool

WHEN: Thursday, August 30, at 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Scarboro Community Center, 148 Carver Avenue, Oak Ridge [Read more…]

One challenger for City Council, none for school board

Posted at 7:52 pm August 17, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The deadline for candidates to qualify for the November 6 municipal elections was noon Thursday, and four Oak Ridge City Council incumbents have one challenger while there are three candidates for three school board seats.

Besides the four seats now held by incumbents, the November election will include the selection of an additional member of Oak Ridge City Council to fill the rest of the term of Hans Vogel, who was elected to a four-year term in November 2016 but resigned in June to take a new job at Idaho National Laboratory. Only one candidate, Derrick Hammond, has qualified as a candidate in that special election. Hammond was unanimously appointed to the seat by City Council in July to fill the seat through the November election. After his unopposed November election, Hammond will serve the last two years of Vogel’s unexpired term.

Also on the ballot in November are city council and school board seats in Clinton, Norris, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top. That’s in addition to the state and federal elections for Tennessee governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and Tennessee Senate and Tennessee House of Representatives.

The four incumbents on the seven-member Oak Ridge City Council who are up for election in November all qualified as candidates by Thursday’s deadline. They are Kelly Callison, R.G. “Rick” Chinn Jr., Warren Gooch, and Ellen D. Smith. The four incumbents last had an election in November 2014. [Read more…]

Marshall resigns from school board

Posted at 11:46 am August 17, 2018
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Paige Marshall

Oak Ridge Board of Education member Paige Marshall resigned from the school board on Thursday.

Marshall and her family are moving to North Carolina for a new job, BOE Chair Keys Fillauer said Friday.

In her resignation letter on Thursday, Marshall expressed sadness and deep appreciation.

“I am sad to leave a wonderful school district in Oak Ridge and the wonderful people on the Board of Education as well as our wonderful Oak Ridge Schools staff and students,” Marshall said. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve our community. I wish you all the best as you and the rest of the board work to keep the Oak Ridge Schools the finest in the state.”

Elected in November 2014, Marshall’s four-year term expires this November, when there are three open seats on the five-member school board. [Read more…]

Blankenship Field renovations to start after football season

Posted at 6:14 pm July 12, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The renovations at Blankenship Field, including the installation of synthetic turf, won’t start until after this year’s football season ends, officials said Thursday.

At one time, there had been hopes that the renovation work would have started this past January and be finished by this June. Then, after an $800,000 contract was approved in June, there had still been the possibility that the work could be complete this summer, on or around the first home football game in August.

But on Thursday, the City of Oak Ridge announced a decision to wait until the Oak Ridge High School football season is complete to begin the renovations.

“The decision was based on the contractor’s estimate that the project could not be completed without impacting the first three home football games,” a city press release said. [Read more…]

Roane County Candidate Forum is Thursday in Oak Ridge

Posted at 9:38 am July 11, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Roane County Candidate Forum will be Thursday at Oak Ridge High School.

Candidates who have opponents in campaigns for county executive, trustee, county clerk, register of deeds, and Roane County Commission District 4 have been invited to speak and answer questions, a press release said.

Candidates who do not have opposition in campaigns for circuit court clerk, sheriff, county attorney, Roane County School Board District 3/4, and Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to be introduced, the press release said. [Read more…]

Anderson County candidate forum is Tuesday

Posted at 1:04 am July 8, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Candidate Forum will be held at the Oak Ridge High School Amphitheater on Tuesday.

The forum is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 10.

Candidates who have opponents and are running for sheriff, trustee, mayor, Circuit Court clerk, and Anderson County Commission District 6 and 7 have been invited to speak and answer questions, a press release said.

Candidates who have no opposition and are running for county clerk, register of deeds, road superintendent, Anderson County Board of Education District 6 and 7, County Commission District 8, and Oak Ridge Board of Education have been invited to be introduced. [Read more…]

City, schools to present budgets to City Council on Tuesday

Posted at 10:43 am May 28, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Mark Watson

City and school officials will present their fiscal year 2019 budgets to Oak Ridge City Council in a special meeting on Tuesday.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education budget, which has already been approved by the school board, will be presented by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers and Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer. The city has typically provided a little less than 30 percent of the school system’s funding.

The proposed municipal budget will be presented by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. [Read more…]