According to an e-mail sent out to faculty and staff by President Paul Sechrist, the OCCC Board of Regents approved two bonds Monday, both totaling a sum of $16 million.

Sechrist said both bonds are essential to the construction of OCCC’s new Performing Arts Theater.

“With the $8 million Student Revenue Bond and $4 million Real Property Master Lease Bond combined with the $4 million we already have from private donations and other college resources, such as the Auxiliary Budget and Section 13 Offset Funds,” he said, “we now have the required $16 million package fully in place to begin construction of the new theater.”

Sechrist said the journey started back in 2006.

“This journey began over four years ago with the Student Leadership Council supporting a resolution to add a free that would be used to provide the debt service on $8 million, one-half of the money needed for the new theater,” he said. “I committed to raise the balance of $8 million from other college sources and from private donations.”

Raising the money was a multi-faceted plan of action, Sechrist said.

“The journey included seeking approval of the plan from our Board of Regents, approval of a joint-resolution in the Oklahoma legislature, a capital campaign led by members of the community, and approval the bonds by our board, the state regents, and the State of Oklahoma Bond Oversight Committee,” he said.

If everything goes according to plan, Sechrist said, the college will begin construction of the new theater in February.

“And in the spring of 2013,” he said, “we will have a grand dedication of our newest facility.”