The Woodward News

Local News

October 12, 2011

Meeting set to discuss transportation bond

Jessica Bruha Woodward News

Woodward, Okla. — The Sharon-Mutual School Board will hold a special meeting regarding the upcoming Nov. 8 school bond election. The meeting will be held this Saturday in the Mutual cafeteria at 6 p.m.

The bond election is for a proposed transportation bond in the amount of $790,000.

Jeff Thompson, superintendent of Sharon-Mutual said the board wanted to have the meeting to inform local patrons about the bond issue and give them an opportunity to ask any questions they may have.

Thompson said the bond money would be used to replace an entire fleet of vehicles including cars, suburbans, route buses, and activity buses.  He said the replacements are needed to provide increased safety for the students.

"Most of our fleet is older model cars so the bond issue will allow us to update the entire fleet," he said.

The school district currently has 5 route buses that are an average of 14-years-old and a spare bus that is 26-years-old. They also have an activity bus that has 100,000 miles on it.

"That's a pretty good length of time to hold onto buses," Thompson said.

In addition, the school's Suburbans have around 150,000 miles on them and the driver's ed car is 12-years-old.

Thompson said instead of holding a series of bond elections, the district wants to get it all done in one bond issue.  The district is taking advantage of an opportunity to bond more money, which is allowed due to recent the growth in the district in the past 4 years, he said.

Growth in the district has come from installation wind turbines in the district and a substation built by OG&E for transmission lines.  Eighty percent of the bond will be paid for by public utilities and outside agencies through a reimbursement fund, Thompson said.

"This takes a significant burden off of local patrons and their portion of the bond issue," Thompson said.

However, taxes will still be raised.  There will be a 10.25 percent increase patrons will see in their property taxes, Thompson said.

Thompson said while it seems like a large tax increase, Sharon-Mutual patrons will still be paying less than surrounding school districts including Woodward, Mooreland and Vici.

Text Only
Local News
  • VFW to hold Memorial Day ceremony

    Memorial Day is a day for people to remember and honor those who have fought and fallen in all of our nation's wars.

    May 26, 2012

  • Voter registration deadline approaching

    Those wanting cast a ballot in the June 26 Primary Election need to be registered to vote by June 1.

    May 26, 2012

  • Alabaster Caverns sets science camp

    FREEDOM - Alabaster Caverns State Park and the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) are teaming up to provide a summer science camp.

    May 26, 2012

  • Giving kids a reason to smile

    SHARON - An area organization wants to give children affected by the April 15 tornado a reason to smile.
    Knowing how much many families lost during the tornado, the newly formed "Make a Child Smile" program seeks to help replace the children's beloved items that were stolen by the storm.

    May 25, 2012

  • Oklahoma House narrowly passes annual budget bill

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma House on Thursday narrowly approved a $6.8 billion general appropriations bill to fund state government, just hours after the same bill failed, avoiding the need to return for a special session.

    May 25, 2012

  • Farmer’s Market opening up Saturday

    The Woodward Farmer's Market Association will be back this summer.

    May 25, 2012

  • Officials expect busy weekend on highways


    OKLAHOMA CITY -  AAA Oklahoma expects over 500,000 state residents to be on the road for the Memorial Day holiday. That's a 2.2 percent increase from last year, said Chuck Mai, AAA public affairs vice president.
     

    May 24, 2012

  • Busy summer at library

    The Woodward Public Library will be staying busy in months to come with several summer reading programs.

    May 24, 2012

  • Quinlan event set

    QUINLAN - The annual Quinlan Alumni and Former Quinlan Students' covered dish supper is Saturday at the Quinlan Fellowship Hall.

    May 24, 2012

  • Big numbers expected at area lakes, state parks

    Memorial Day weekend is the annual kickoff of the summer season and area parks and recreation areas are expecting big numbers of visitors, including Fort Supply Lake.

    May 23, 2012