OKLAHOMA CITY — Preliminary work has started on 11 of the projects voters in the OKC Public School District authorized in a $955 million bond issue last November.
Proposition 1, which requested $936 million for school improvements, was endorsed by 64% of the district residents who voted. Proposition 2, which sought $19 million for school buses and vehicles, was approved by 62% of the voters.
It was the largest bond issue in the school district’s history. Superintendent Sean McDaniel promoted the bond issue as an opportunity to put its facilities and resources on equal footing with suburban school districts.
Oklahoma City’s schools are an average of 72 years old, records reflect.
The bond issue included:
• New schools and learning spaces that address overcrowded schools and 21st century learning opportunities.
• New buses to provide safe transportation for students.
• Maintenance to protect investments in schools and extend the life of the district’s infrastructure. Undoubtedly, there will be air conditioning and other unforeseen specific needs “that have to be addressed,” McDaniel acknowledged.
“This will serve OKCPS not just today but for the next 15 years or so,” he said.
Bond issue projects include construction of two new high schools, consolidation of four southside schools into new buildings, and expansion of a middle school.
The ad valorem tax on district property to retire the bonds that will finance the myriad projects rose to 26 mills, or $26 for every $1,000 of assessed property value. The increase amounts to $6 a month more, or $78 dollars a year more for a $100,000 house. This is the district’s first increase in its millage levy increase in more than two decades, since 2001.
In comparison, millage levies in other school districts include Deer Creek, 32.13; Moore, 26.31; Edmond, between 24 and 25 mills; and Tulsa Public Schools, 26.63 mills.
The bonds have not been sold yet, Crystal Raymond, the district’s media relations manager, told Southwest Ledger on July 28.
Projects starting this summer, she said, include:
• Arthur Elementary: walking trail, parking and fence renovation.
• Buchanan Elementary: parking, outdoor play area and fencing.
• Cesar Chavez Elementary: soccer field renovation.
• Cleveland Elementary: parking and track renovation.
• Mark Twain Elementary: half-court and parking.
• Putnam Heights Academy: outdoor area renovation.
• Ridgeview Elementary: walking trail and shade structure.
• Thelma Parks Elementary: outdoor play area renovation and new walking trail.
• Van Buren Elementary: connect sidewalks to walking trail, fencing upgrades.
• John Marshall Enterprise Middle School: design phase for multi-building / media center renovation.
• Rogers Middle School: design phase for gym/locker room renovation and new practice fields.
The district is “currently in the design and planning phase for new construction,” Raymond said. Groundbreaking “will not begin until we enter the construction phase.” New school buildings are scheduled to open for the 2026-27 school year.
Those include:
• A new Capitol Hill High School.
• A new middle school combining Capitol Hill and Wheeler.
• A new Belle Isle Enterprise High School (grades 9-12).
• A new middle school combining Taft Middle School with Taft Linwood (5th-8th grades).
• A new elementary school combining Adelaide Lee with Shidler Elementary.
Other improvements are to include:
• Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School: the 5th and 6th grade building is to be repurposed; five additional classrooms will be constructed at the 7th and 8th grade building along with an addition to the gymnasium.
• Classen SAS [School of Advanced Studies] High School at Northeast: cafeteria renovation and a new outdoor eating courtyard.
• Classen SAS Middle School: cafeteria renovation, new outdoor eating courtyard, and renovation of the auditorium.
• NW Classen High School: 16 additional classrooms, addition to provide flexible learning space, and female softball facility.
• U.S. Grant High School: 12 additional classrooms, cafeteria expansion, outdoor eating area, flexible space addition, and new Little Generals childcare area.
• Southeast High School: renovations to the aviation program space, cafeteria renovation, outdoor eating courtyard, and auditorium renovations.
• Star Spencer Mid-High School: renovation of the administration area and front entrance, renovation of Twidwell Stadium, competitive gym, and flexible space additions.
• John Marshall Enterprise High School: practice field renovation, regional stadium addition, and flexible space addition.
• John Marshall Enterprise Middle School: renovation of the media center and multi-building.
• Adams Elementary: renovation of the drop-off and pick-up area for car riders, upgrade and improve outdoor play areas, general maintenance and repairs and/or beautification improvements.
• Roosevelt Middle School: renovation of the gymnasium and locker room.
• Mary Golda Ross Enterprise Middle School: upgrade the fine arts area.
• Britton Elementary: two additional classrooms, general maintenance and repairs and/or beautification improvements.
• Kaiser Elementary: construction of two new classrooms and renovation of the parking lot.
Numerous other projects are planned at several other schools in the district.
All of the projects authorized in the bond issue are scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2026, Raymond said.
The OKCPS administration pledged to “work with each school and school community to establish programming” for their flexible learning space.
Examples of possible programming options include college and career, vo-ag (FFA and 4H), mechanics, film production and studio arts, eSports, visual and performing arts, aerospace and aviation, and trades – workforce development.
When asked why the district is investing in athletics when academic performance in some of the school “is not where it should be,” McDaniel replied, “Studies show that students engaged in athletics and other extracurricular activities are more likely to stay in school, and they perform better in the classroom.” Oklahoma City’s children “deserve to have the same opportunities to participate in sports as kids in the suburbs do,” he said.
Oklahoma City Public Schools is a multi-cultural district whose enrollment during the 2022-23 school year was 33,341.
The district employs approximately 6,100 administrators, teachers and support personnel who serve a student population that is comprised of 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, 2% Native American, 6% multiracial, 14% Caucasian, 22% African American, and 54% Hispanic individuals. More than 60 languages are spoken among OKCPS students.