• A bond election is when a governmental entity (city, county, school district) places a question before the voters as a ballot measure, typically to finance a building project or other capital project, asking them to approve or deny proposed spending. State law (70 O.S. §15-103) requires an approval of 60% for a successful bond election.

• Public school districts do not have authority (AG Op. July 3, 1970) to execute a note or mortgage, or in other words, can’t take out loans from banks to secure, build, or buy property.

• Using bond elections is a public school’s primary avenue to build new buildings and purchase equipment such as school buses, technology, fixtures, etc.

• School funding is extremely complicated, but in general terms, the State appropriations, or the funding OKCPS gets from the state of Oklahoma, does not account for buildings or maintenance. The mechanism in place for public schools to raise funds to build school facilities and structures is to propose a bond election for the vote of the people.

• Bond elections cannot be used to raise funds to pay for staff salaries or benefits. In fact, money designated through appropriations for a particular purpose can not be used for other purposes.

• In 2001, Maps for Kids was approved and provided OKCPS with money for building upgrades and renovations. Maps for Kids helped OKCPS continue to operate with aging facilities.

• Voters approved a bond election in 2007 for $248.3 million. Those dollars were used for transportation, gymnasiums at elementary schools, classroom additions, HVAC, plumbing and electrical upgrades, and technology.

• Voters approved a bond election in 2016 for $180 million. Those dollars were used for transportation, technology and general maintenance.

A list of projects can be found here: www.okcps.org/Bond22 .

• The bond propositions will be presented for vote on the November 8, 2022 ballot.

• Voters will consider two propositions, one totaling $936,000,000 to provide funds for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, equipping, repairing and remodeling school buildings, acquiring school furniture, fixtures and equipment and acquiring and improving school sites; and one for $19,000,000 to provide funds for the purpose of acquiring transportation equipment.

• The 2022 Bond Package will total 955 million dollars.

Yes, only registered voters who live within the boundaries of OKCPS may cast a vote in the bond election. It is extremely important to timely register to vote, if you have not done so already. The deadline to register to vote for the November 8th election is October 14th.

• The district’s Pathway to Greatness (P2G) was about efficiency. Many of our schools were under capacity, while some were at or over capacity. P2G allowed OKCPS to “right size” enrollment across the district so our buildings were operating more efficiently.

• The 2022 bond is about modernization and improvement to existing facilities. The average age of OKCPS schools is 72, and we have nine schools that are over 100 years old. The bond will allow OKCPS to replace extremely outdated facilities and upgrade others to provide our learners with world class, 21st century learning spaces.

Construction could begin as early as the Summer of 2023. The bond includes at least one project at every school, which means projects will be completed in phases.

Any new school project will be completed and slated to open for the fall of 2026.

Bond dollars are collected through property taxes, so those impacted would be individuals, families or landlords who own a home within the OKCPS boundary. The increase equates to approximately $6 a month, or $78 dollars a year for a home valued at $100,000 for the duration of the bond authorization.

A mill levy is the "tax rate" that is applied to the assessed value of a property.

Some school buildings would need to be demolished in order to accommodate the new school being built. In other cases, the facility will be repurposed to provide a need within the community. The list of projects can be found by visiting www.okcps.org/Bond22.

The district’s Director of Facility Planning will work with the architect and engineering firms as well as the construction management companies to keep the bond projects moving forward. OKCPS will provide regular updates to our families, staff and community with the status of bond projects.

• OKCPS developed a Bond Planning and Oversight Committee (BOPC) over a year ago to support the creation of our transformational projects. If the bond passes, this committee of several community members will provide oversight to ensure OKCPS is using the dollars as intended.