Francis Tuttle Technology Center

A birds-eye-view from the west of the planned Rockwell 2010 expansion. The lighter-colored roof areas indicate the majority of new construction.

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View Rockwell 2010 CampusCam

Francis Tuttle’s largest expansion to date to accommodate local and regional employers with more and better trained employees, the Rockwell 2010 project, is a part of the long-term focused Master Plan, intended to foresee and plan for future expansion needs. Infrastructure will be addressed to replace necessary utility, telecommunication and data lines, and extend current capacities to reduce construction costs for future expansion. The target date for completion of all phases of the Rockwell 2010 project is October 2011.

Phase I:

Infrastructure improvements and paving of new parking areas and roadways [currently underway]

Phase IIA:

Business and Industry Services, including centralized, dedicated facilities flexible enough to provide resources to deliver superior customized training and services to current and future business and industry clients, bringing a synergy that will accelerate the ability to provide ‘just-in-time’ training and services to customers in a more efficient and effective manner [estimated to begin April 2009 and last approximately 12 months]

Phase IIB:

A comprehensive School of Culinary Arts, new student Commons area, a production kitchen, Information Technology Services, and e-Learning facilities. Expanded culinary facilities will allow for growth capacity from 72 FTEs to 160 FTEs, estimated growth of 10 courses and 400 students (not FTEs) in Adult Career Development and 2,500 contact hours, plus 10% per year Continuing Education (industry training) [estimated to begin July 2009 and last approximately 16 months]

Phase III:

Repurposing to accommodate expanded Health Sciences programs, as well as enclosing current service/parking area to accommodate anticipated growth to serve an additional 248 students in existing and new programs, while also providing additional capacity for adult career development, continuing education and industry training [estimated to begin October 2010 and last approximately 12 months]

Planning, Financing and the Economic Downturn

Planning:

Planning, design and development for Rockwell 2010 began in earnest in Spring 2007 (the needs for expansion in the Culinary area were identified and researched as far back as 2001). Master planning for the Rockwell campus lead to the planning to upgrade the infrastructure for the undeveloped west portion of the campus.

Financing of Construction:

Rockwell 2010 will be paid for with proceeds from the annual 5 mill Building Fund levy. No additional taxes will be levied to pay for the project, estimated to cost approximately $40 million. At least $10 million will be paid directly from the Building Fund budget, with up to $30 million financed through a lease-purchase note, which will be serviced by the Building Fund with a 12-year payback. The financing will allow the District to place the entire project in service by 2011, and will reduce the net cost of the project by eliminating some portion of construction inflation, as opposed to building the project over a longer period of time.

Current Economic Environment:

The current economic crisis which has unfolded rather dramatically over the past few months has lead to a reassessment of the timing of Rockwell 2010. The reassessment has led to the conclusion that this is the right time to move forward with the project, supported by the following logic:

Francis Tuttle is building for the future, not for the present. These facilities will be in place to support economic expansion in the years following the current downturn, and will provide for economic development for decades to come. Public capital improvement projects are important to the local economy, especially in times when private projects are being postponed or cancelled. In addition to providing economic development for years to come once completed, this project will provide an economic stimulus while it is being built.

Taxpayers will receive a greater value for each dollar spent on this project due to a downturn in the price of commodity items, and an increased competitive market among contractors.

Overhead view of the Rockwell 2010 expansion project.

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The goals and merits of Rockwell 2010 are sound, whether the economic times are good or bad. These facilities will enable Francis Tuttle to serve many more students in high demand training areas, and to meet the needs of local business and industry in areas forecast for strong labor needs. Over the past 28 years, Francis Tuttle has consistently demonstrated that we put our facilities to good use to benefit students and the Oklahoma economy. Rockwell 2010 is a great investment in the future of Francis Tuttle and Oklahoma!