The March 6 tornado that briefly touched down on Tulsa Tech’s Peoria Campus did so much more than just take off the main building’s roof.
It created a child care problem.
About 40 families participating in the early childhood program are still looking for replacement care more than a week after severe storm damage caused the north Tulsa campus to shut down for the remainder of the school year.
“One of our challenges right now is that there was a functioning day care at that facility where we train early childhood education workers,” Tony Heaberlin, Tulsa Tech’s chief communications and economic development officer, said during a recent meeting of the Tulsa Leadership Vision organization. “We are hopeful that we can find space to restart the program because we have child care workers who are in training.”
The day care situation is just one of the problems the school is facing after the March 6 tornado, which leveled many classrooms. No one was at the campus, located at 3850 N. Peoria Ave., at the time because it doesn’t have Friday night or weekend classes.
Officials had to move nearly 60 staff and 550 students to other locations in the county, Heaberlin said.
“We have six campuses and now five,” Heaberlin said, calling it a “tremendous hit.”
The extent of the campus damage is unclear. School officials say it will likely take at least two years to either rehabilitate or rebuild the campus.
“We want to reassure the community that we will rebuild, and we will rebuild on that site,” Heaberlin said. “What that looks like, we don’t know yet. It’s going to take some time and that may cause frustration.”
The campus has developed from the former discount store Belscott over the past five decades. Tulsa Tech, then called vo-tech, acquired the nearly 14-acre property in 1976. In 1992, a major remodel added enough space to double the size of the campus.
The Monday after the tornado, Tulsa Tech brought the faculty together for an overview and group meal. Safety workers helped staff recover possessions.
“We made them part of the process of figuring out what resources they need,” Heaberlin said. “Imagine working in a facility for quite some time and all of a sudden you can’t go in and get family pictures out of your office. They’ve been able to do that now.”
Workers are starting to recover equipment that can be salvaged, but space is needed to house the items. Some organizations have stepped up to help, including QuikTrip. The Tulsa-based company donated about $5,000 in gas cards for students now driving to further campuses.
“We’re glad we’ve got the students and staff placed and are moving forward,” Heaberlin said. “The outpouring of support from the community has been incredible.”
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