OAKWOOD — Oakwood school officials are getting closer to moving the district's administrative offices to a new home.

Last month, the school board approved purchasing a building at 12190 U.S. 150, west of Danville, for $255,000 to house the unit office.

On Wednesday evening, it approved issuing $375,000 in working cash fund bonds to pay for the building and four acres of adjacent undeveloped land, make necessary improvements and cover moving costs.

"The district has already put a 10 percent down payment on the building, so part of the bond issue would be used to reimburse the building fund," Superintendent Keven Forney said earlier in the day. "We're hoping to close on the building in late October, providing there are no glitches, and looking at moving in sometime after that date."

The administrative offices have long been located in an old house next to Oakwood High School on U.S. 150. Forney said the house is close to 100 years old and has significant structural problems.

About three years ago, officials began studying whether to repair the house, build a new unit office or move into an existing building. At that time, they learned that bringing the house up to code could cost about $330,000, and constructing a new 4,000 square-foot building — the smallest they could go — on district property next to the grade school could cost about $750,000.

Forney said officials began looking around at existing buildings and saw value in the one they selected. "The purchase price made it very attractive, and the space is very ample for our purposes," he said of the 10,000-square-foot building, which once served as the Vermilion Association for Special Education building and currently houses the University of Illinois Extension Vermilion County Office.

And while it's not adjacent to one of the schools, Forney said, the building sits in the center of the school district. He added that the new building will allow him to bring the district's curriculum and technology coordinators, both of whom currently work out of the grade school, under the same roof as the other district employees.

If all goes as planned, Forney said, the bonds will be sold in October, and the district will close on the building at the end of the month.

"We're looking at moving in sometime after that date," he said, adding that the latest that would happen would be the end of the year.

Forney said the UI Extension Office would continue to lease the building at least until the end of November, when the lease ends. He said the board would consider allowing the agency to renew the lease, depending on space needs.