For those who live in Oklahoma, severe weather is a part of life.

Dibble Public Schools is one of a handful of school districts in Oklahoma that have decided to build monolithic dome structures to keep students and residents safer should a storm approach the area.

Superintendent Bill Bentley said Dibble voters passed a $3.49 million bond election in March 2007 that would allow the district to build a new middle school facility and gymnasium. Both are monolithic domes.

Bentley said district officials chose the dome structure for a couple of reasons.

"First, we wanted to have a facility which would serve as a tornado shelter for kids and community members," Bentley said. "The second reason was that the actual cost of heating and cooling is significantly less in a facility like this."

Bentley said workers inflated the middle school building's dome in April and the gymnasium's dome Tuesday evening.

David B. South, president of the Monolithic Dome Institute in Italy, Texas, said both structures will be completed in about eight or nine months.

South said the concrete domes are called monolithic because they are made in one piece.

"We take what looks like a truck tarp in the shape of the building, attach it to all concrete walls and inflate it with big fans," South said.

He said workers then spray the dome's interior with polyurethane. Rebar is tied in the roof, and it resembles a grid.

South said workers spray concrete on the underside of the foam embedding the rebar. The process takes a couple of weeks.

"When we get it all on, we can turn the fans off, open doors and windows, you have a thick shell dome and it's enormously strong," South said. "Earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes can't do too much damage. These buildings are tornado shelters and in some cases, walls are put outside of walls and doors to protect people."

Bentley said 700 children are enrolled in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The gymnasium will seat about 600 people, and hold 3,000 individuals.

"It will be tremendous facility as a storm shelter," Bentley said.

Bentley said he's been superintendent for eight years and has passed three bond issues. The March 2007 bond issue passed by 76 percent, the largest percentage in his tenure, according to Bentley.

"We're saving money and utilities by building an environmentally friendly building, and providing shelter for community members," he said.

South noted because both buildings are made with concrete, they cannot burn.

"These things are built to last forever," he said.

South said he came up with monolithic design.

"I got hooked on the idea of domes in 1957," he said.

He spent years perfecting his idea and figured out that concrete works better sprayed on the building's interior as opposed to the exterior.

"It's spectacular in its ability to hold together and save money," he said.

South said he constructed the first monolithic dome in 1975 in Shelley, Idaho.

Tom Ratanasin, an architect with Boynton Williams -- Associates, said the Dibble project was his first experience designing a monolithic dome. He said he was impressed with the structure and its ability to stand up to strong winds and severe weather.

"We have been working with Dibble Public Schools for some time," Ratanasin said. "When they came up with the domes, we did some research."

Ratanasin traveled to the Monolithic Dome Institute for a seminar.

"We took information and learned how to build it," he said.

Ratanasin said the building cannot be classified as a storm shelter until FEMA approves certification. But it will be a safe haven if and when severe weather strikes the Dibble area.

"I believe it will be a good, sturdy structure," he said.

According to a press release from BWG Agency in Dallas, Dibble is among eight school districts in the state that have chosen the monolithic dome method of construction. Others include Locust Grove, Buffalo, Hinton, Beggs, Okemah, Texoma and Geronimo.

More information about the dome design and planning is available at www.monolithic.com.

Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com