OWASSO, Okla. — Owasso voters head to the polls on September 9 to decide on a nearly $170 million school bond that includes a new 5th-grade center and safety improvements across the district.
For Owasso mother Kylie Killian, one primary concern is the district's current half-day Pre-K program, which presents challenges for working parents.
WATCH: Owasso voters decide on $169M bond for school facilities, safety upgrades
"It just, there's, there's only so many spots for Pre-K kids right now, and it's still hot just half day. So for the working parents of the world, it's really hard to just have a pre-day Pre-K, half-day Pre-K program," Killian said.
The bond could address this issue if it passes. Superintendent Dr. Margaret Coates says the district is preparing for significant growth.
"We're expected to grow by 1000 students over the next 10 years. And so, we've got to start planning now by expanding our facilities," Coates said.
The bond would fund a new 5th-grade center, for $66 million, that would create space across all nine elementary schools to expand the pre-K program to full day.
"The reason we're doing that this fifth-grade elementary center is so that we can make space in all nine of our elementary schools all at the same time, so that we can expand our Pre-K program to full day Pre-K," Coates said.
Killian believes her daughter would benefit from the expanded program.
"She's ready for a full-day program, and she would have thrived in a full-day program this year," Killian said.
Safety improvements are another key component of the bond, including new safety film on glass windows and doors at all school sites, designed to slow potential active shooters.
"The response time with our Owasso police department is really fast, within two to three minutes, and the safety film is rated between like 13 and 18 minutes," Coates said.
As a parent, Killian supports these security measures.
"When I when we send our kids off to school every day, we expect that they are going to be safe and that they get to, you know, have an opportunity to learn and not be scared," Killian said.
The bond also includes funding for a multi-use athletic facility, a fine arts building at the high school, and upgrades across the district.
Full breakdown of the Bond click here.
In February, a $193 million bond failed by just 59 votes, partly due to a proposed property tax increase.
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After the bond failed to pass, Coates and her team went back to the drawing board, cutting the original bond price by 13%.
"There will be no tax rate increase, and we were able to scale back those major projects just a little bit and reduce some of those budgets," Coates said.
Both Killian and Dr. Coates hope the community will turn out to vote.
"The kids that are in a Owasso public schools right now are the future of Owasso and of Oklahoma, and we just want to give them the best opportunity possible," Killian said.
“It definitely is impacting the future of not only Owasso public schools, but the future of the community of Owasso, because we know that when schools are strong, the community is strong.” Dr. Coates said.
Owasso City Manager Chris Garrett released a statement encouraging voter participation:
We encourage all Owasso citizens to vote in Tuesday's bond election. Owasso cannot be a strong community without a strong public school district. The forward-moving city that we all desire — from robust property values to long-term business growth to future economic development — is ultimately established and sustained through continued investment in our local school system.
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