Kevin Hook
DUNCAN — This past Tuesday, March 2, 14 school districts throughout Oklahoma passed 21 different bond proposals worth over $425 million. Congratulations to Anadarko, Plainview, Cache, Clinton, Friend, Tonkawa, Kingfisher, Purcell, Davis, Ripley, Allen, Dale, Tulsa and Liberty schools and especially the residents of those communities for having the foresight and the ability to understand the needs of their respective schools and communities. The average percentage in which they passed was 82.6 percent. That’s impressive! Sure, some of those were pretty small, like the $150,000 bond in Tonkawa and some were large like the four proposals in Tulsa that exceeded $350 million. Did I mention the $295 million dollar bond that passed last December in Broken Arrow with 70 percent voting yes?
Many that are opposed to the bond feel that with a soft economy and with the concerns pertaining to Halliburton moving jobs that this isn’t the time to propose the bond issue. In reality this should be a reason to vote for the bond issue, not against it. We need to be doing everything we can to make our community as attractive as possible to new business prospects and the military families moving into our area because of the base realignment. Economic development leaders have enthusiastically stated that the school bond plan would be a tremendous shot in the arm to their efforts to bring new jobs to Duncan.
They have indicated that the quality of the schools and school facilities are in the top three considerations that companies make when considering communities for relocation or expansion. Compared to most other communities our size, our school facilities are lacking horribly.
Folks associated with recruiting the Army soldier and contractor families have said that the families are not moving into Lawton because of the condition of the schools, but are going to communities where the facilities are newer and better. A 35 minute commute from Duncan to Fort Sill so your family can live in a better town with better schools, is a trade off these families will make. We have an opportunity here to recruit these families if we can pass this bond issue. Need I remind you that Cache was one of the communities mentioned above that realized this very issue?
Forget the fact that our kids deserve to be educated in first class facilities, which is reason one to pass the bond issue, the entire community of Duncan needs to vote yes on the bond issue for the sake of our real estate values and the future of our town. Especially considering that the average Duncan homeowner will only have to pay around $30 more a year ($2.50 a month) if the bond issue passes.
Let’s see $30 a year versus a brand new and safer elementary school for every Duncan child, a newly renovated and safer high school complex, some renovated athletic facilities, a new and valuable tool for our economic development team, a more attractive town to present to the hundreds of families moving to Fort Sill and a secure future for the City of Duncan. Most would say the choice is a no-brainer.
— Kevin Hook is the publisher of The Duncan Banner. Contact him at 580-255-5354, Ext. 130 or at khook@duncanbanner.com.
