By Sue Kiesewetter
Enquirer contributor

OXFORD - The group that wants to split a new district away from the Talawanda Schools will take its case before a subcommittee of the Ohio State Board of Education next month.

But at today's 7:30 p.m. Oxford City Council meeting, members will consider a resolution encouraging the state board of education to allow the matter to be put on the November ballot.

Wednesday, the school board will ask legal counsel to update the board on the reorganization process at its 7 p.m. work session at Talawanda Middle School.

"We are making this request due to our longstanding concerns about academic quality, pressing financial needs and voter polarization in the Talawanda School District,'' said Jody Brock, chairwoman of the Talawanda Schools Reorganization Committee. "We are likewise concerned about the future viability of our community as we see increasing numbers of families with school-aged children opting to live and/or educate their children elsewhere.''

The year-old group is proposing a new district whose boundaries would include Oxford Township, the city of Oxford and 2 acres of Hueston Woods State Park, now in Preble County's Eaton Community Schools. Talawanda would be left with areas including Reily, Hanover and Milford townships, the village of Somerville, and a small part of Preble County. The enrollments would be about 1,500 in the newly created district; about 1,700 left for Talawanda schools.

The effort is similar to the five-year campaign that resulted in the creation of the Monroe Local Schools in 2000. A group of citizens there fought for a new district by splitting from the Middletown/Monroe Schools and taking a small piece of land that had been in the Lebanon Schools. The committee will present its case March 7 to a new state board subcommittee being chaired by Michael Cochran, a Columbus area state board member. "We're in the process of gathering information,'' Cochran said.

The reorganization group has been told it is up to them to present a need for the new district. Much of the information needed centers on statistics and finance, Cochran said. Items the committee will be looking at are size of new and old district, tax valuation of both districts, racial makeup, operating dollars and buildings.

Talawanda Board of Education President Robert Huff said the board is opposed to the split, citing the cost of operating two districts, gains the district has made recently, and what's best for students.

"We disagree on the perception." Of what's best for kids, Huff said.