TPS voters head to the polls Tuesday to consider $414 million bond package

Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. State law requires a 60% supermajority for school bonds to pass. If adopted, the proposal would keep property tax rates level and replace the district’s 2015 bond package that is scheduled to be retired in August.

“I can’t emphasize how important it is for everyone to vote on Tuesday,” Citizens Bond Development Committee member Kristen Oertel said. “My son had a fantastic experience in Tulsa Public Schools and I want my daughter to continue that process and have as fantastic an experience.

“Without this money, frankly, I’m terrified what would happen to not only curriculum materials and quality of environment, but their safety as well.”

The parent of both a May TPS graduate and an incoming high school freshman, Oertel said her family specifically moved to the TPS attendance area more than a decade ago in part because of the community’s support for bond projects. However, even with that community backing, she said she was surprised at just how big a role bond dollars play on TPS campuses.

“Frankly, I was shocked on how reliant the public school system is on bond issue money,” she said. “It is part and parcel of every school’s budget. It fulfills needs at every school.”

Proposition No. 1 would provide $166.8 million for buildings, including $30.5 million for security improvements across the district, 17 new roofs, cafeteria upgrades at all nine high schools, interior renovations at eight campuses, accessibility upgrades under the Americans with Disabilities Act and funding for maintenance and repair needs.

Proposition No. 2 would provide $90.7 million for the district’s technology needs, including software licenses, network security upgrades and classroom devices, such as Chromebooks, tablets and document cameras.

Proposition No. 3 would provide $17.3 million for transportation needs. Along with new school buses and spare parts for the district’s current vehicles, the proposal includes funds to purchase additional smaller vehicles for each secondary site to help ferry students to Tulsa Community College, Tulsa Tech or on other school-affiliated trips.

Proposition No. 4 would provide $193.3 million for learning materials and programs, including $3.5 million for teachers’ professional development, $8.8 million for library materials, $12.1 million to provide annual additional per-pupil funds to support site-specific programs, $2.7 million for new outdoor classrooms and playgrounds, $9.6 million for fine arts programs across the district and $29.9 million for textbooks and curricula.

The Citizens Bond Development Committee was able to reduce the length of the bond by one year by putting $51 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds toward ventilation improvements that would normally be included in this year’s package.

However, as TPS Executive Director of Bond Projects and Energy Management Chris Hudgins pointed out, federal dollars come with federal strings and can not be used to cover all the items and projects included in the bond package.

“The CARES Act is very limited in what it can be spent on,” he said. “It can’t be spent on ADA improvements, renovations, roofs or things like that. It is very much tied to the pandemic.”

Among the entities endorsing the proposal are the Tulsa Regional Chamber and Public Service Companies of Oklahoma.

“Quality education is such an important key factor in attracting as well as retaining companies to our community,” Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Neal said. “Anytime we sit down with an industry cluster and talk to them about the future of their business, education and workforce is the first thing they talk about.”

Meanwhile, the Tulsa County Republican Party has been campaigning in opposition to the bond package.

Along with a desire to lower property tax rates when the 2015 bond expires in August and objections to the district’s decision to stay in distance learning for more than a semester due to COVID-19, Republican Party leadership cited TPS’ declining enrollment among the reasons for balking at the proposal.

A rally in opposition to the bond proposal is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday outside the TPS Education Service Center prior to the board of education’s regularly scheduled meeting.

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