CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

You're invited to join Ozark School District for the official Ribbon Cutting to celebrate the opening of the Tiger Paw Early Childhood Center storm shelter and new cafeteria. Ozark voters approved the $19 million no-tax-increase bond issue on the April 5, 2022, ballot.

• Date: Tuesday, May 21
• Time: 10:30 a.m.
• Location: 202 N. Fourth Ave., Ozark

There is limited parking on the street in front of the Storm Shelter. So, if you can't find a spot, feel free to park in our parking lot at Tiger Paw's main entrance and walk through the building.

The cafeteria at Tiger Paw is officially open and students were excited to eat breakfast and lunch in it starting Monday, May 13. We are currently waiting on the storm shutters. Once installed, the building will be officially classified as a storm shelter.

Project Details

• The shelter will serve as a full-time cafeteria.
• This will improve breakfast and lunch time for Ozark’s littlest learners as the gym currently doubles as the cafeteria and meals are delivered twice daily from East Elementary.
• The new kitchen is attached to the east of the shelter, the brick portion pictured above.
  
• Groundbreaking for the shelter was in April 2023.

Take a sneak peek at some of the behind-the-scenes construction work at Tiger Paw Early Childhood Center's Storm Shelter over the last year.

• The four 2022 bond projects — storm shelters at Tiger Paw, Ozark Middle School and Ozark High School, along with the OHS indoor activities center — are under budget, reducing our costs by about $1.4 million. On Tuesday, May 14, the Board of Education voted to use that $1.4 million savings to pay for the installation of the solar panels at South Elementary, which will be installed this summer.
  
• Energy Savings Update: The solar panels that were installed at West Elementary this spring should start realizing savings this summer.
  
• OHS HVAC Update: Once school is out, work will start at Ozark High School to prepare for the new HVAC system units, which are scheduled to be set the beginning of August and ready for the start of the 2024-25 school year.
  
• Earlier this school year, the District hired an energy savings company and began retrofitting everything in the District to LED. The energy savings from the LED and solar will also help offset the cost of the new OHS HVAC system.
  

Located on the north end of the high school, the precast storm shelter was erected in the fall, and crews are now working on the interior and the connection. It will be open for athletics and activities starting in June!

Just east of the storm shelter is the activities center. The red iron frame started going up over Christmas break and now walls have closed it in. It remains on schedule to open in August.

We plan to have an official ribbon cutting celebration for both facilities in August.

Project Details

• The storm shelter is on the north end near the Wrestling Barn and greenhouse. The shelter will also serve as an additional gym for P.E. classes, sports and activities.
• Currently, OHS has two gymnasiums, which do not adequately accommodate our 1,700+ OHS students for PE classes during the school day. The extra gym located in the storm shelter is desperately needed as Ozark continues to grow.
• See more renderings of the storm shelter here.
• Down the hill from the storm shelter in the lower parking lot near Tiger Stadium, the indoor activities center will be constructed. The facility will include a 20-to-20 yard line turf and will be available for P.E., band, athletics, activities and community groups.
• See more renderings of the indoor activities center here.
• Groundbreaking for the projects was in April 2023.

The OMS storm shelter and front office space has been open and in use this spring with the official ribbon cutting March 8.

We are excited to use the classroom space for Summer School!

On April 5, 2022, you — Ozark voters — approved a $19 million no-tax-increase bond issue for the District to construct storm shelters at Tiger Paw Early Childhood Center, Ozark Middle School and Ozark High School, as well as a new entrance at OMS and an indoor activities center at OHS. Your vote made a difference and will make our schools safer while accommodating growth. The support of our community is one of our greatest assets.

Find more details of the projects here.