With nearly 80 percent approval, El Reno Public Schools will begin implementing construction and purchase projects under two bond proposals approved by voters Tuesday.

“I’m honored and thankful for the support of our community. These are things that are going to continue to help our students educationally and our teachers and faculty,” said Superintendent Matt Goucher.

“It’s going to be things that our community can be proud of, so I’m just so blessed that our community supports the school system the way they do.”

Both proposals, totaling a record-high $69.56 million, were approved by popular vote in 10 of the 15 precincts in which votes were cast. Five precincts saw no ballots cast.

State law requires bond initiatives gain 60 percent approval to pass. Canadian County Election Board Secretary Allen Arnold said provisional ballots were yet to be counted but that the final tally should not fall under the mandated percentage.

Proposal 1, with a price tag of $69,560,000, will build additional classrooms at district sites from Roblyer Learning Center down to pre-kindergarten at Hillcrest Learning Center.

A new district warehouse is planned as well as a building to house transitional education classes and a Hall of Fame. The site, now a parking lot, is between the current Media Arts Center and the high school. Parking will be relocated to the east of Etta Dale Junior High.

The proposal will fund a new multi-sport athletic building at Memorial Stadium that will address the district’s need for locker rooms for female athletes.

Goucher said the football program will move into the new building and the old Blue Room will house junior high football, which now uses the old YMCA building in Adams Park. The district’s wrestling program, also at the YMCA, will relocate to the new building.

The district’s band program will get a new building to use during marching season and game days.

The proposal was approved by a vote of 865-217 or 79.94 percent.

Proposal 2 will fund transportation needs such as buses and technology upgrades district-wide. It was passed by a 859-221 vote or 79.54 percent.

There were 8,298 eligible voters, according to Arnold, but only 1,082 ballots were cast at precincts for the construction proposal and 1,080 for the transportation and technology.

Goucher said residents will not see a tax increase to repay the new bonds over a 13-year period.

“Nobody will see any difference. It will be a continuation of the current rate,” said Goucher.

With funding approved, Goucher said the construction diagrams released to the public will move into the design phase.

“The next step will be meeting with the architects and construction management and the school committee to decide which dominoes will happen first.

“Since we’re building at every school site, I want to find out if they can be working at more than one place at a time,” said Goucher.

Goucher said educators in the district will be involved in the design phase and he wants to have all meetings completed by month’s end or early November.

“You get the architects involved as quickly as you can because they’ve got to come up with the detailed drawings and blueprints so that they can get started on the construction.

“It could be a two- to three-month time period before they can get all the drawings and engineering done as well as permits pulled. Then you still have to put out bids and get the bids back,” said Goucher.

Goucher said the current economy and rising costs have been considered in the new bonds to cover any budget overruns.

“There is contingency money in each one in case that were to happen. If it doesn’t happen, then it’s just more money to spend on other things,” he said.