In December, Norman Public Schools will ask voters to approve a multi-year bond issue that allows for $109,760,000 worth of capital improvement projects to take place within the district.
Norman Public Schools Board of Education approved a resolution calling for the election at a special meeting held Monday afternoon. The election is scheduled Dec. 8.
The bond issue will be broken down into two propositions. The first proposition listed on the ballot covers building and equipment bonds worth $105,580,000. The second proposition calls for transportation equipment bonds that total $4,180,000, according to NPS Superintendent Dr. Joe Siano's presentation.
Siano introduced a list of projects to board members Monday.
"Our community continues to see nice, modest growth," he said.
If approved, the bond issue will cover five years' worth of improvements. The proposal also includes a new elementary school to be built at the corner of State Highway 9 and 24th Avenue SE. The school will hold 500 elementary students, Siano said.
He said the resolution includes the total costs of the projects along with construction fees, interest paid for bond and contingency dollars.
"Those are components of every project you will be seeing as we go forward," Siano said.
In December 2007, Norman voters approved a $43 million bond election that allowed for district improvements including another elementary school on Norman's west side.
Siano said construction continues on the Truman Primary School and is expected to wrap-up in August 2010 for the next school year. Also, each project that voters approved has been on schedule.
After Siano's presentation, board president Linda Sexton, vice president Joe Sparks and board members Darry Stacy, Dr. Dan Snell and Brooks Hull all voted in favor of the resolution.
Stacy said he was excited about the possibilities of technology advances and building additions such as a new agriculture building at Norman High Schools. Students at both high schools use the building for class.
"These kids needed this for a long time," Stacy said.
Before school board members addressed the proposed bond election, they unanimously approved a construction contract to Lighting, Inc., of Tulsa to upgrade lighting at Adams Elementary Schools. The project was included in a list a bond projects that Norman voters approved in 2007.
According to the project bid results, Lighting, Inc., submitted a base bid of $23,466.
Bill Kaighn, president of Kaighn Associates Architects Inc., said the bid was competitive compared to other bids of $26,817.04 and $31,893.12 that were proposed by Energy Partners Alliance of Oklahoma City and National Lighting and Energy Service, respectively.
Altogether with construction fees, the project will cost the NPS district $33,566, according to the proposal. That amount is about $12,000 less than the construction document phase estimate.
Before board members approved the agenda item, Kaighn said once the project was approved, contracts could be drawn up in about a week. It will take one to two weeks to order supplies and another week to complete the project.
Kaighn said the project would not disrupt class for Adams students.
"It will be an evening operation," he said.
Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com
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NPS board approves resolution for $109M school bond election
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