SAVANNA, Okla. — The Pittsburg County campus of Savanna Public School is old: Works Progress Administration, Great Depression-era, no A/C in the gym, rotted wood dropping the floor, water constantly in the basement - old.
In order to fix what's needed, Superintendent Adam Newman had to find a new idea after the Trump administration canceled a potential Department of Energy grant study scheduled for 2025. Then, an April 2026 bond proposal to hike property taxes 26% failed among voters.
A new idea finally came from Tulsa-based design company Lee Simon Design. The result would be the first school building ever to come from 3D printing.
"We're looking at trying to do a 3D print with concrete that's going to come in and really allows us to have the space that we're needing, but at almost 25% off the traditional cost for building schools," Superintendent Newman told 2 News Oklahoma on Aug. 5.
The renderings show preserving some of the original touches of the WPA building, with added safe rooms.
"Going through this process, not only did we save $1.2 million on the estimation of the cost of it - we're also looking at going from six classrooms to now ten, possibly 11 depending on how they divide one of those rooms up," Newman said.
Designer Ben Tillman told 2 News via Zoom it's not as hard as it sounds.
"The act of 3D printing is novel. But the actual end result is very similar to a concrete block building where you still have an interior and exterior layer of thin concrete with an air gap in the middle filled with insulation," Tillman said. "And so, it's resulting in a building type that is very, very similar to buildings used all around the world."
That is, if 60% of Savanna Public School-zoned voters approve it on August 25. Instead of the 26% tax increase before, Newman said it'd be just 18%. That is likely still a big ask, but former Savanna school board president and retired radio DJ "Sleepy Lee" Anderson wants fellow voters to realize what he considers an urgent need.
"This needs to be done. We need a new building," Anderson said. "If this gets unusable, we'll have to bring in those portable classes. And those are not good for the kids, and they're expensive."
Seventh grader Wyle McCoy Box said he's done his homework on the design and said it'd be great for his schoolmates. “I think it would be more comfortable for us, definitely way safer, because I really don’t trust that building when the bad weather comes through," Box said.
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