By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
Voters across Canadian Valley Technology Center’s school districts will head to the polls on Tuesday, Sept. 12 to cast their ballots on a $75 million bond issue package.
If the proposal is approved, CV Tech will construct a public training facility at its El Reno Campus and make upgrades to its Chickasha Campus.
Passage of the $75 million bond election will increase property taxes.
The approximate cost will be $2.50 per month ($30 per year) for each $100,000 of assessed property value. Projected payoff of this bond issue is 15 years.
If passed, construction would start in fall 2024 after Canadian Valley’s 2014 bond issue expires. The estimated district millage rate is 3.47.
The CV Tech Board of Directors at its April meeting voted unanimously to support the bond election “for some much-needed improvements and additions across the district,” CV Tech Superintendent Gayla Lutts said.
Full-time student enrollment totaled 1,999 to start the 2023-24 school year – and the district is at maximum capacity, she noted.
“Robust district growth has necessitated construction of more classroom space for additional programs,” Lutts said. “This year, more than 600 potential students were turned away, primarily due to lack of space and programs.”
Canadian County’s population grew 33.6% from 2010-20 and another 9.7% from 2020-22, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Canadian County now has 96,437 registered voters: Republican (57,362), Democrat (19,825), Independent (18,174), and Libertarian (1,076).
Approval of the Sept. 12th bond election will help CV Tech “keep moving forward in our mission to help Oklahomans succeed as we build a brighter future for our students, our community and the Oklahoma workforce,” Lutts said.
A skilled and educated workforce is good for the local economy and changes lives, the chief executive officer added.
CV Tech – which opened in 1970 – works with industry to provide current technology training for in-demand careers.
Some 31 full-time programs are offered in career fields like arts and communications, business management, health sciences, human services; and industrial, manufacturing and engineering.
PLANNED PROJECTS
Planned projects total $52,744,000 for CV Tech’s El Reno Campus, 6505 E Highway 66.
Pending voter approval Sept. 12, these funds will be used to construct, equip and furnish a “stand-alone” public safety training facility with a fire training tower and police simulator spaces.
The first responder facility would train law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.
Bond funds also would pay for renovations to add Business & Industry Services’ classrooms, shops and labs on the west end of the El Reno Campus.
Planned projects total $22,256,000 for CV Tech’s Chickasha Campus, 1401 Michigan Ave.
If the bond issue passes, proceeds would be used to upgrade aging facilities at a campus constructed in the late 1960s.
Bond-funded improvements would include a new cosmetology program, more classrooms, labs shops, safe room spaces, parking and improved bus lanes.
CV Tech has a third site, the Cowan Campus at 1701 S Czech Hall Road in Yukon.
School districts served by CV Tech stretch from El Reno east to Bethany and Piedmont south to Rush Springs, and include Mustang, Yukon and Tuttle, among others.
Lutts has served as superintendent/CEO since August 2018. Board members are Dean Riddell, Christy Stanley, Dennis Crawford, Jimmie Vickrey, and Penny Jones.
POLLING PLACES OPEN
Only registered voters in Canadian Valley’s school districts will be eligible to vote in the upcoming bond election.
All 60 polling places in Canadian County will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day Sept. 12.
Early voting in Canadian County will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 7-8 at the Canadian County Election Board, 200 S. Bickford Ave. in El Reno.
Voters across the Canadian Valley district in April 2014 approved a $12 million bond issue that funded the rebuild of existing structures after extensive tornado damage to the El Reno campus.
To learn more about CV Tech and its Sept. 12th bond proposal, visit cvtech.edu .
