Published: November 30, 2007 12:35 am            

Officials: Bond issue would finish the work at Hayes

This is the sixth in a series looking at projects included in an Enid Public Schools Dec. 11 bond issue election. The series continues daily through Dec. 9. Anyone wishing to submit questions about the proposal can e-mail them to trasp@enidnews. com.





Shiny new tile lining the walls of two banks of renovated restrooms catch the eye of visitors and students walking down the halls of Hayes Elementary School.

While it wasn’t the intent to be eye-catching, a few small improvements at Hayes — including renovated bathrooms and new flooring in the hall — have made a world of difference.

Crews spent the summer renovating the hallway, tearing out old carpet that had been installed halfway up the walls.

They replaced it with blue and white laminate flooring, the same flooring that continues through the hallway of the four-classroom addition that runs north and south.

The classroom addition houses the upper grades at Hayes and eliminated the need for portable classrooms at the school.

“The addition has made it so children don’t have to go outside” to get to the gymnasium, Principal Jane Johnson said. “I like the layout because I can stand right here and see both halls.”

The classroom addition, flooring and restroom upgrades and ceiling and lighting renovations were made possible by voters in a 2003 bond issue and sales tax measure.

The renovations also included making one set of bathrooms handicap accessible.

Inside classrooms, frayed and rippled carpet is more likely to catch a visitor’s eye. On the east end of the building, teacher Suzanne Johnson keeps an eye on a portion of her classroom that is prone to leaks.

EPS administrators hope to alleviate the problems associated with old windows, and aging carpet and casework inside classrooms through a bond issue measure being presented to voters Dec. 11.

Hayes would get new flooring in classrooms; paint; work on doors; exterior work, including renovations to the covered walkway; and sidewalk improvements.

If the bond issue is approved by voters, all schools will receive technology improvements and would keep the district on a bus replacement schedule.



Here’s what is planned



Two propositions are on the ballot — one for $10.9 million for facility improvements and technology upgrades, including interactive white boards, and one for $600,000 for transportation needs.

The proposal also includes a new Garfield Elementary School, which would be the first new elementary school for EPS since 1963.

In 2001, a professional facility assessment company identified $30 million in needs in the district’s buildings. A little more than $20 million was provided through the 2003 bond issue and sales tax measure.

The current measure would address the remaining needs, school officials have said.

Funds generated from bond issues only can be used for capital improvements, technology and transportation. They cannot be used for general operating needs, such as salaries.



What has been accomplished



Through the 2003 bond issue and sales tax election, the district already has completed a number of improvements, including a nine-classroom addition and a food court at Enid High School. Also, additions at four elementary schools have been constructed, and other sites across the district have received or will receive extensive renovations.

Technology upgrades have included new computers for every classroom, computer lab and library across the district.

New transportation purchases include re-placement of a third of the district’s fleet, in addition to charter buses, activity vans and driver’s education vehicles.

While some projects approved in 2003 are ongoing, school officials want to secure funds to finish needs originally outlined in 2001.

The current measures scheduled for the Dec. 11 ballot would increase property taxes by 3.9 percent. For example, someone who currently pays $500 in property taxes annually would see an increase of less than $20 a year. Someone who pays $1,000 annually in property taxes would see an increase of less than $40 a year.