Former Nursing Home Hosts Students

When HUD foreclosed on a nursing home property in December 2000, Mustang school officials purchased the property for $10.

"This is the best financial investment we've ever made", said Superintendent Karl Springer. "There was just a little sign in the window of the building with a phone number to call if we were interested in the property. It was the best call I ever made."

Fifty patient rooms were combined to create 22 new classrooms for the district's prekindergarten and alternative education programs. MAPS for Kids and bond money funded the project for about $1.1 million. Plans are underway to create more classrooms, a media center, and space for a nurse and a counselor.

Tom Miller, Director of Multifamily Programs in HUD's Oklahoma City office, rarely gets to see such a miraculous transformation. "This is just a little different than I remember," Miller said. "It just seems too good to be true."