Chairperson: Dr. Jan McGee
Dr. Walt Doherty
Dr. Ron Hunter
Mr. Frank Darden
Mr. Gary Bittle
Mrs. Jodi Raimondo
Mrs. Christy Moeller
Mrs. Harriet Wood
Mr. Robert Clinton
The Attorney for the Board is Ela Luga
School Updates
3,1,2011 A website has been established for the Burns Science and Technology Charter it is located here at Burns SciTech
1,26,2011 The Volusia County School Board has approved The Burns Science and Technology Charter the next step is to get the facility up and running
9,27,2010 The Volusia County School Board voted to accept the Oak Hill Charter application. The Oak Hill Community Trust's Education Committee and Founding Board are now working toward Phase II, the contract negotiations.
5,25,2010 The Board unanimously voted to enter into a 5 year contract with EdFutures, Inc. and begin the application process for an Oak Hill Charter, k-8, school, with a focus on Technology.
5,4,2010 EdFutures, Inc. made a presentation to those attending about their Charter School Management business, and how they could help the OHCT to open a Charter School.
October 2009 - April, 2010 Volunteers held two clean-up days; facilities committee was established to assess the damages to the buildings and establish a plan for restoration; Community Garden was planned and the area identified and boundaries marked; Fundraisers started with a community dinner and continues with the opening of a Community Thrift Shop.
October, 2009 The Community Trust purchased the Burns Elementary School for $164,000 from the Volusia County School Board. The vision is to create a facility that people of all ages could enjoy and benefit fromand programs.The project is complex and consists of committees for facilities, Thrift Shop, Community Garden, Government agencies, Educational programs for adults and children (after school and summer), Entertainment, Fundraising, Resource Center.Please select a committeeare interested in serving on and sign up at the next meeting, held at 7:00p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month in the V.I. A. Hall
Oak Hill community sees future in closed school Tuesday, January 05, 2010By KELLY CUCULIANSKY, Staff WriterOAK HILL -- Children's voices are absent today, but there's a vision for this town's old public school to become a hub for hope, help and education once again.For now, volunteer passion has begun to paint empty, stripped-to-the-core rooms with ideas at the former W.F. Burns-Oak Hill Elementary that closed due to budget problems. The revival for the public school -- established in 1926 -- begins with simple things, like re-installing electrical and water systems and getting furniture for the cafeteria.Once the building becomes reestablished, though, it won't just be filled with the sounds of children learning in classrooms.The Oak Hill Community Trust sees it as a future "intergenerational complex" for needy adults and seniors to find resources and learn how to read, said board member Dana Thompson. Once the facility is in operating condition, volunteers expect social service agencies will move satellite offices here to provide service to local residents in the isolated town with little bus service and where about 15 percent of families with children are living below the poverty level."My dream is if we build it, they will come," said Thompson, who attended the school. "To use the old cliche, it is my field of dreams."Many considered the school the hub of the community, which has suffered several economic blows. Over the years, freezes devastated orange groves, the development of Interstate 95 pulled business away from its U.S. 1 core, and the state gill net ban shattered its fishing industry.The latest misfortune came with the summer 2009 closing of the 1960s-era building where 230 children attended school. And just as the Volusia County School Board considered demolishing it this fall, an anonymous benefactor offered a low-interest $164,000 loan for the Community Trust to save the site.Despite the cards the town has been dealt, there is optimism."This area is just really forgotten so often, but we're still moving forward with a huge glimmer of hope for the new year," Thompson said.Sid Corhern, a New Smyrna Beach architect and volunteer, said reestablishing the school will help bring back pride to the community.Any donations or leads for equipment and services will help the project gain momentum, said Corhern, who is researching grant opportunities.It will take at least two more years before officials can consider it for a charter school, but the revival begins with simply running electricity to every building so that dehumidifiers can prevent mold, Thompson said. Then it's on to the cafeteria, which needs to be furnished and prepared to host fundraisers."We are now reaching out and saying please help us," Thompson said. "We need people to be involved who might help us in any way."One group has already stepped up with seed money. The Abram and Ray Kaplan Foundation, a charitable group that provides aid to those in need and promotes access to education, will donate $40,000 over four years, beginning with a $10,000 payment in mid-January.While some local children are now home-schooled, many transferred to Indian River Elementary in Edgewater.Oak Hill City Commissioner Kathy Bittle said her children still feel like "visitors" at their new school, though she's hopeful they might one day return to their old school site.The site is in good hands with the Community Trust, she said, but it's going to need more help to bring the sound of children back. "It's going to take the whole community to do this."© News-Journal Corporation, news-journalonline.com (SM)