Angus Valley Elementary breaks ground on new gymnasium and storm shelter
/Sand Springs Public Schools officials, students, and community leaders gathered Friday afternoon for a ground-breaking ceremony on a new gymnasium at Angus Valley Elementary. The gym will also serve as a hardened storm shelter.
Sand Springs voters overwhelmingly approved the project in March of 2019 as part of a $32.85 million bond proposition. Of the nearly 2,000 votes cast, 92.83% were in favor of the proposal, which also funded the recently-completed Freshman Academy and STEM center at Charles Page High School.
“This is the last elementary school that has yet to have a separate cafeteria and gym in our district,” said Superintendent Sherry Durkee. “They’ve been having to share a space as a place to eat, a place to do assemblies, and a place to hold P.E. classes. Now we have the versatility of having different schedules, so that P.E. can be held in a separate place.”
Construction will officially begin next week, and the project is expected to be completed by the summer of 2021, before the new school year. Part of the construction will be to include a reinforced grass surface that will be able to support fire trucks, while still maintaining a natural look, instead of a paved fire lane.
The gym will be large enough to hold the entire school, both students and staff, in the event of a serious weather event.
The project is expected to cost approximately $2 million, with half coming from the 2019 bond election, and half coming from existing building funds.
