Mid-Del Schools $90.5MM Bond Issue Improvements
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Mid-Del school groundbreakings begin May 3
All projects tied to $90 million bond issue voters approved in 2011
Mid-Del Public Schools will begin a series of groundbreaking ceremonies May 3 in connection with the $90.5 million bond issue voters approved in September 2011.
The first event will be 2 p.m. Thursday, May 3 at Soldier Creek Elementary, which will be the site for a new school. The second groundbreaking will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 8 at East Side Elementary, the site of a second new school that will be constructed with bond issue money.
Each new school will cost an estimated $20 million, school officials have said.
A new East Side Elementary is needed because of the increased enrollment that will occur when Traub Elementary and Sooner-Rose Elementary are closed. Mid- Del Board of Education members voted last year to shut down the two schools as part of a district consolidation plan.
Eventually, all Traub students will transfer to East Side and Sooner-Rose students who live in Midwest City also will transfer to East Side. Sooner-Rose students who live in Del City will transfer to Del City Elementary, which will receive a new west wing and other major renovations valued at $5 million.
A new Soldier Creek Elementary was proposed because of the increased commercial growth and heavy traffic count at SE 15th and Douglas Boulevard. The new school will be built northeast of the existing campus. The new East Side school also will be built at its current location.
More groundbreakings
On May 10, officials have planned two additional ceremonial events at Epperly Heights Elementary, 3801 Del Road in Del City, and Del City Elementary, 2400 Epperly Drive in Del City. The Epperly Heights event will be at 10 a.m. and the Del City Elementary ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Epperly Heights renovation will cost an estimated $6 million, and will involve classrooms, the entry way, gymnasium, hallways and cafeteria.
Meanwhile, the Del City Elementary project will include a new wing of nine classrooms, a new art room, work room, administrative office, new kitchen and a bank of new restrooms. Some of the restrooms also will serve as storm shelters for students and staff members.
More than $51 million will be spent at the elementary school level, school officials have said.
Restroom remodeling, new carpet, updated technology and new security communication equipment are common themes at the remaining elementary schools. At some schools, such as Country Estates Elementary and Highland Park Elementary, officials are planning to build canopies because students have no outside cover from inclement weather while waiting on parents to pick them up.
Level field
The level of technological improvements at the elementary schools will depend on each site’s existing technology, Pam Twidwell, the district’s chief operations officer, said in a previous interview.
For example, several elementary schools including Barnes, Ridgecrest and Townsend will receive new interactive white boards. Other schools such as Steed Elementary will receive sets of iPads. At Highland park, students will benefit from the interactive white boards, Smart response systems and voice amplification systems.
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