INOLA, Okla. – Several school districts in northeast Oklahoma will ask voters to approve bond proposals on Nov. 18, including Inola and South Coffeyville.
Inola Public Schools is asking voters to approve a $59.8 million bond issue for a new upper elementary school building, air conditioning for the high school gymnasium and technology upgrades throughout the district.
The district says the need is urgent. Officials are already using modular classrooms due to overcrowding.
The bond would construct a new building for second through fifth graders. Currently, fifth graders attend school on the middle and high school campuses. The new building would bring them back to the city's elementary school and free up eight to 12 classrooms on the secondary campus.
Superintendent Jeff Unrau said the district is also requesting air conditioning in the high school gym. He said the 40-year-old gymnasium was not built for the sport of volleyball and that training begins in mid-July.
“Volleyball practice starts July 15, and of course July in Oklahoma is pretty brutal in a gym with no air conditioning,” Unrau said. “And not just for our volleyball team, but also for our fans, parents, grandparents who come to watch the games and for the visitors, the other schools who come and play against us.”
The bond also includes new Chromebooks and technology upgrades. Unrau said some of the district's current Chromebooks are eight to 10 years old.
If the bond passes, the district expects the gym's air conditioning and technology upgrades to be completed by August 2026. The new elementary building would open in August 2028.
For a homeowner who pays $1,000 a year in property taxes, the bond would mean an increase of about $100 a year, or less than $9 a month.
Unrau said Inola's millage rate is one of the lowest in the region, ranking 35th or 36th out of 38 schools. He said county officials aren't taking the request lightly, but the need is real.
South Coffeyville is asking voters to approve a $1.4 million repair bond. This is not the first time the district has made this request. It came within one vote of passing a similar bond two months ago, but fell short of the 60% supermajority required by law.
This time, the district added storm shelters and safety improvements to the proposal. The bond would fund roof repairs, air conditioning, concrete and sidewalk repairs and new windows.
But the biggest innovation is storm protection. At the moment there is no such thing in the school or in the community.
Superintendent Daryl Pruter said safety is a top priority for the preschool through 12th grade school.
“We needed a storm shelter. We don't have any,” Pruter said. “We worked with the Cherokees and that took some time. They are still very helpful. But we need to get one because not only does our school not have one, our community doesn't have one.”
For a home valued at $68,000 – the average in South Coffeyville – the annual increase would be about $85 per year, or $7 per month for 10 years.
Pruter said the milling rate in South Coffeyville is about 20 mills lower than other counties in Nowata County. He said the district isn't trying to move forward, just catching up on essential repairs.
Pruter said if the bond fails again, officials would come back with a different proposal because the need won't go away.
Voters in both districts will decide on November 18th.