High School Faces Parking Dilemma

Tuesday, August 14th 2007, 4:45 pm

By: News On 6

Construction is well underway at one of the Tulsa areaâ€™s largest high schools. Classes start August 22 in Owasso. News On 6 anchor Craig Day reports while students are stocking up on supplies, Owasso school administrators have been tackling a parking predicament.

Students returning to school soon at Owasso High School will have to get used to the sights and sounds of construction. Superintendent Clark Ogilvie calls it a short term pain for a long term gain.

"It's a 25 classroom wing, double, almost triple the size of our commons area and also double the size of our kitchen cafeteria area,â€ said Ogilvie.

As part of a $36 million bond issue, the high school will also get a new entrance.

"It's going to be magnificent when we're finished and right now I think we're going through what you would call the classic growing pains,â€ said Owasso High School principal Sam Herriman.

The construction is intended to help the school keep up with anticipated growth. Already, Owasso is the sixth largest high school in the state and enrollment is rapidly growing.

"We feel like we're ready for this surge that we're going to have right now, but it's going to continue for years to come,â€ Ogilvie said.

With so much growth in Owasso, just about every single school in the district has some type of renovation or construction project underway. With work still ongoing and the clock ticking toward school starting, parents and students brought up an interesting question. Where is everyone going to park?

The school lost as many as 300 parking spots. A nearby movie theatre parking lot may be the answer to the dilemma.

"We're in the process of negotiating an agreement as we speak to allow our sophomore students to park there during the day and have our juniors and seniors park at the mid high and high school parking lots,â€ said Ogilvie.

The construction project at Owasso High School is expected to be finished in December of 2008.

By the way, high school students in Bartlesville will begin classes three days later than expected because of construction.

Bartlesville High School students will begin August 20th. All other students began classes Wednesday.

For more back-to-school information, including homework and safety tips, click here.

Watch the video: High School Construction Puts Staff And Students In Parking Predicament