OKC district's nearly $1B bond issue will be on November ballot. What would that go toward?

The largest bond in the history of Oklahoma City Public Schools will appear on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.

The district school board on Monday unanimously called for the bond election.

Now, the decision rests with district residents whether to approve the $955 million bond issue. It will need 60% of the vote to pass.

“We have needed this bond for a long time,” board member Gloria Torres said during Monday’s meeting. “This bond creates the path for truly transformational changes for the future of OKCPS students. It is not the end-all, but it is a much-needed step in achieving our guiding principles when we address the needs of our ever-changing school district.”

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The bond would raise the Oklahoma City district’s mill levy to 26 mills, or $26 dollars, for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

This would be the first increase for the district since the current rate of 18 mills was set in 2000. It would put the district on par with Tulsa Public Schools, which charges a 26.63-mill levy.

Tulsa has passed three bonds, collectively worth $1.2 billion, since 2010. The OKC district passed a $180 million issue in that time.

“Let’s get on with this historical vote for OKCPS kids and families and community,” Chairperson Paula Lewis said shortly before the school board tallied its vote.

The bond will appear in two propositions on general election ballots.

The first proposition requests $936 million for five new schools, a host of renovations and school expansions. The most transformative projects, particularly new constructions, won’t be complete until the 2026-27 school year at the earliest.

The second proposition would spend $19 million on school buses and vehicles.

What new schools would the OKCPS bond build?

A new Capitol Hill High School is expected to be the bond’s most expensive construction project. The district estimates a replacement for the current 94-year-old Capitol Hill building would cost $116,144,000.

Board member Gloria Torres, representing southwest Oklahoma City, said Capitol Hill alumni, families and community members deserve input in the design process for the new facility.

“No one wants to see our beautiful building and all its memories demolished,” Torres said. “However, we all want the 21st-century learning environment our future students deserve, and those two should not be exclusive of each other.”

The district also plans to replace Capitol Hill Middle School by merging it with Wheeler Middle School in a new $58,680,000 building.

A new Taft Middle School is expected to cost $57,792,000.

“That old Taft building is iconic," Superintendent Sean McDaniel told The Oklahoman last month. “I would say Capitol Hill is the same way. You’ve got alumni, who have gone through both buildings, as they hear this news they’re going to be thinking that same thing, ‘What’s going to happen to my school?’

“I want to know what they think, but I also want to pitch them our vision. This is not doing away with Capitol Hill. This is simply relocating Capitol Hill to give kids bigger, better opportunities.”

Last month, Torres voted against the proposed list of bond projects because it didn’t include an added high school in south Oklahoma City.

The south side was home to three of the district’s four biggest high schools in the 2021-22 school year, including U.S. Grant, the high school with the most students. Northwest Classen grew into the second-largest high school in the district since some south Oklahoma City students were zoned to the school in 2019.

A newer, bigger Capitol Hill High and extra classrooms at U.S. Grant could alleviate overcrowding at both schools, McDaniel said.

Data of birth rates, housing development and population mobility — collected in preparation for the 2022 bond — indicate enrollment could level off and decline in south Oklahoma City in the future, he said.

The district plans to consolidate two southside elementary schools, as well. Adelaide Lee and Shidler would combine in a $29,334,000 new construction.

Torres said a “passionate, diverse group of community champions” have advocated for Shidler, expressing the school is a “true hub of hope” for its area in southeast Oklahoma City.

“As a member of this board, my commitment is to ensure we uphold our guiding principle of keeping our neighborhoods together and that all facilities will be used for positive community purpose,” Torres said. “I cannot think of a greater purpose than keeping Shidler Elementary School in the community it serves.”

Decisions are nowhere close on the location of the new constructions nor for the future of the original buildings. But, the district’s most recent spell of consolidations could give a road map to what could become of the next crop of vacated facilities.

Each school closed in the 2019 Pathway to Greatness consolidation plan was either kept for district use or leased to social service centers, charter schools and private schools.

2022 bond would create new high school, flex spaces, regional stadium

The bond would do more than merge schools under newer roofs. It would create a newly conceived school, as well.

Right now, students in Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School have no direct high school pathway, unlike in the district’s other two application schools, Southeast and Classen School of Advanced Studies.

The 2022 bond would spend $76.16 million to build a Belle Isle Enterprise High School, further expanding application-school seats and encouraging Belle Isle families to stay in the OKC district for ninth through 12th grade.

Five district high schools — Frederick A. Douglass, John Marshall, Northwest Classen, Star Spencer Mid-High and U.S. Grant — would gain 20,000-square-foot flexible spaces and athletic facility improvements.

The function of each flexible space would differ from school to school, creating room for vocational training, science and technology innovation, performing and visual arts, eSports, and college and career preparation, among other options.

In addition to a flex space, John Marshall Enterprise High School would add a $15.34 million regional athletics stadium.

Monday’s election call was the culmination of 18 months of data collection, committee meetings, polling and community engagement, McDaniel said Monday. The OKC district will schedule more community gatherings to present “what a successful bond election would bring to the students, families, faculty and staff of the district.”

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC school bond just shy of $1 billion lands on November ballot