Thu, Dec 04 2008
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Published August 19, 2008 11:44 pm - Okay school officials hope voters approve $2.75M bond New building, roof, cafeteria and AC in proposal By Cathy Spaulding Phoenix Staff Writer
OKAY — School officials say passage of a $2.75 million bond issue will help them deal with a growing school population and a deluge of roof leaks. The bond issue, which will face voters on Tuesday, would fund a new 15,600-square foot high school, plus new roofs and heating/air conditioning units for the existing high school building and cafeteria. If passed, the bond issue would raise the tax rate by 22.76 percent or $22.76 for every $100 paid in taxes — about $1.90 per month, school officials said. Okay High School Principal Charlie McMahan said the new high school would feature four classrooms, plus a new computer lab, science classroom, home economics classroom and band classroom. High School English teacher Susan Clark said she definitely sees a need for a new high school building. “We are a rapidly expanding district,” she said. “We would be able to provide more services to the students and the community. The school is the focal point of a small community like Okay.” McMahan said 238 students are enrolled in grades seven through 12. “We had 16 new ones this year, all move-ins,” he said. “Now, we’re limiting our transfers, and we know of families looking to move in.” Okay School Superintendent Mickey Igert said fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grades each have at least 40 students. If a new high school is built, the current facility would be used for the middle school. Some middle school classes meet on the second floor of the Okay gym, and teachers have said those classrooms do not have adequate room for students and storage. Students also must haul backpacks up and down stairs to get to and from the classrooms. “We are so overcrowded,” McMahan said. “For instance, we had 28 seventh- and eighth-grade boys in together in a small little classroom that’s not a lot bigger than this office. “Every time we expect rain, I have to move the furniture and cover the computers to protect them if it rains,” high school special education teacher Kellie Stopp said, pointing to sagging, stained ceiling tiles. Teachers and staff members throughout the school building report having to put trash cans or cover computers under dripping ceiling tiles when it rains. 
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