TULSA, Okla. — Chouteau-Maize Public Schools looks to the community early next month to pass a school bond already familiar to voters.
The issue failed by just eight votes when it was proposed the first time, but Superintendent Lori Helton said the board made changes the community asked them to make. This time, it is a $12 million bond split into two propositions of approximately six and seven million dollars each.
“This bond issue is really important for our school district because it addresses a lot of the safety needs that our community has been talking about for decades,” said Helton. “We house everybody from 3 year olds all the way to 12th grade, we have a lot of kids here, we want to make sure they’re safe all the time.”
Because this bond replace an expiring one, it would not raise taxes. It would put the district into debt, but they say, these projects are critical and need to be done.
The first proposition addresses a need for more space in the existing storm shelter, and would fund a multipurpose space to be used in severe weather events. It would be designated for middle and high school students and staff in those situations, as well as for overflow classroom space for those grade levels.
The existing shelter located in the Early Childhood Center is no longer big enough to accommodate everyone it needs to.
Michelle Robertson’s fourth grade grandson expressed concern to her after he participated in a school tornado drill last week. He told her not everyone could fit, and that made her uneasy.
“It’s something that you definitely want to see improvement on,” said Robertson. “I mean, you see other schools thriving in other communities, so why would we not want our own community to thrive.”
A new shelter would benefit the larger Rogers and Mayes counties population, as the ECC shelter is a community shelter, too.
“The existing storm shelter of the ECC will still be part of the community shelter,” said Helton. “Taking the middle school, high school students faculty and staff out of the picture and giving them a different space to go into, it opens up a lot more area for the community as well as our younger students.’
The second proposition addresses safety concerns across the school district. Projects would include making more secure entrances to the ECC, elementary and middle school buildings, moving the pick-up and drop-off lanes closer to the perimeter of the property for pedestrian safety and adding on to the ECC to help manage overcrowding the district currently deals with in younger grades.
Expanding the ECC would also allow for the district to prepare for growth. Other campus improvements will be made possible through the second proposition.
“This is an amazing community, and our kids deserve the very best of everything we have to offer, every day,” said Helton.
Helton said she hopes the community will pass this bond the second time, since adjustments were made directly based on voter feedback.
The election is scheduled for April 2.
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