Tire production has stopped, but the Bridgestone Firestone name will live on in western Oklahoma City after the company donated 60 acres of land Monday for a new elementary school and a nature reserve.
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Western Heights School District will build its fifth elementary school on 20 acres of land near the former Dayton Tire plant, which closed last year with the loss of 1,400 jobs. Nearby will be 40 acres set aside for a nature reserve and outdoor classrooms.
"This donation signifies our company's ongoing commitment to the environment, education and the future students of Western Heights School District,” said Mark Emkes, chairman and chief executive officer of Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC.
The school, to be called Bridgestone Firestone Elementary, is scheduled to open by 2010, said district Superintendent Joe Kitchens. It will teach pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
"We were running out of land,” Kitchens said. "We've been growing at about 10 percent over the last three years, and we've been very concerned about being able to keep up with that and having adequate space.”
Lt. Gov. Jari Askins called it a "bittersweet moment, but it really is a great day,” to see the company continue its 37-year relationship with Oklahoma City.
"Many employees had students who attended Western Heights, and this will help their future,” Askins said.
Miles Tolbert, state Environment Secretary, said the wilderness reserve will help children reconnect to nature at a time when so many other distractions compete for their attention.
Kitchens said the reserve — at the corner of SW 15 and Council Road — will be open to the public as well as schoolchildren.
"So many of our urban children don't have the experience of having this type of nature reserve available to them,” Kitchens said. "It's very important that students learn to develop an appreciation for the environment and to protect the environment. This is going to be a wonderful facility for helping children in science education and in environmental education.”
Kitchens said the loss of property tax revenue from Dayton's plant and equipment has been offset by growth and development in Oklahoma City.
"True to form, a year later, the tax base is up, not as much as maybe it would have been, but it is still up,” Kitchens said. "Oklahoma City is a vibrant place. It's bad to see plants close, but it's good to see people come back together ... to help invest in the future.”
Emkes said Bridgestone Firestone has relocated some of the equipment from the former tire plant.
"The land and the building will be sold over time,” Emkes said. "There has been some interest, so I think it's just a matter of time.”
The land donation to Western Heights schools builds upon Bridgestone/Firestone's first wildlife habitat near the Oklahoma City factory, Emkes said.
Since that began in 2000, other company plants have set aside nearby land for nature reserves.
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Western Heights band students play at the ceremony that Bridgestone Firestone officials donated the land for a new elementary school. By David McDaniel, THE OKLAHOMAN
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