Storm Shelters In Public Schools

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Organizers of a signature gathering campaign for a $500 million bond issue for storm shelters in public schools are preparing to launch their effort.

The group Take Shelter Oklahoma plans to file a petition on Wednesday with the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s office to get the issue on a statewide ballot. Once the ballot language is given final approval by the attorney general, supporters would have 90 days to gather about 155,000 signatures of registered voters.

The plan calls for the debt service on the bond issue to be paid by the annual franchise tax levied on businesses.

Among the supporters of the proposal is Mikki Davis, whose 8-year-old son Kyle was among seven children killed in May by a tornado that slammed into Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore.