ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) -The Odessa College board of trustees is moving forward with the new three-hundred fifty-five-million-dollar bond.
Board members have been working on the bond for several months and discussed the needs of the school campus. Now it is up to voters in the November 2024 election to decide if the bond will move forward.
The president of Odessa College says these buildings have been around for a long time and they need renovations.
He believes the bonds will help the upcoming students attending Odessa College and it will help the campus to grow.
The money will go towards campus improvements, infrastructure, and maintenance.
“A lot of core buildings on the campus are very old forty or fifty years old and as with anything age is not a good thing for building, infrastructure, waterlines, that sort of thing.” said the CEO of First Basin Credit Union Shem Culpepper.
They are aiming to renovate the sports center as it is a frequently used building, and the childcare center would be expanded.
“The facility that we have now is not large enough to do what we need to do in this community so we will take the opportunity to expand those operations and to make sure that we can provide services to those parents and students,” said President of Odessa College Greg Williams.
Odessa College is looking to add a new workforce building on campus.
Williams wants to meet with the community to explain the need for the bond
“To provide those services for the people who see what we are doing and want to be a part of is going to take more and that’s the question if the community wants to do more and provide more so we can do what the community wants,” said Greg Williams.
According to Odessa College, if the bond does pass, property taxes would increase for the average homeowner an additional fifteen dollars per month.
Odessa College believes this is the right time to propose the bond and to expand the campus, one of the Odessa College foundation board members Shem Culpepper says the bond won’t just benefit the school.
“There is going to be close to two hundred thousand required new jobs in the Permian basin; the only way this community is going to thrive is if entities like Odessa College step up to provide the resources to train,” said Shem Culpepper.
The proposed bond is on the November fifth ballot
Early voting starts on October twenty-first.
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