By KAITLYNNE ELKINS and KALYN VENABLE
Special to Sapulpa Times
KIEFER – The new 4 5 6 Building is well on its way to reality.
In fact, barring weather delays, Kiefer Superintendent Mary Murrell told teachers classes will be open in the new facility for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in the fall 2018.
“We are so thankful to live in a community of people who are dedicated to providing the best resources and facilities for our children,” said she said earlier. “(They) have made Kiefer Public Schools a district viewed as one of the best small schools in Oklahoma.”
Joe Bill Lierly, who spearheads the project for the district, said construction began slower than hoped, but he agreed classes will be in the facility in the fall.
“The building took longer to get started than what we wished,” he said. “We are almost done with the plumbing and electrical and we should be pouring concrete soon.”
The $3.14 million bond to construct the building passed by an overwhelming majority of 173 to 16 voters. That means 91.5% of Kiefer voters supported the school district’s proposed building project.
The new 4 5 6 center will house 14 classrooms, offices and a computer/STEM lab. It will approximately 16,000 square feet. The center – along with the asbestos removal from the old high school – is expected to cost $3,140,000, which prompted the bond election and issuance.
The new building was proposed because of increasing student numbers at the elementary school level.
Money for the new building will come from the bond that was approved April 4 by Kiefer voters. The project does not include a tax increase, school officials said. A former bond issue was recently paid off, which allowed the school district to float a new bond issue without affecting the current millage rate or raising taxes.
With the fourth graders moving to the high school campus and fifth and sixth graders joining them in the new building, tentative plans call for seventh and eighth graders to relocate to the junior high portion of the current facility. High school students, then, will remain in the high school portion of the building.
The relocations, in the long run, should ease crowded hallways for both high school and elementary school students. If student numbers continue to increase there will be a need for additional teaching staff, but not unless student population increases.
Lierly said much thanks goes to Judy Carr for donating the time and hard work so insure that the pad for the building will be correct.
