Last Updated on August 14, 2022, 8:42 PM | Published: July 16, 2022
Two new high school buildings and a regional stadium included but no new high school for south side
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — Two new high school buildings for existing high schools and a regional stadium are among the list of 19 building projects on the list of “transformational” projects the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education authorized Monday for further planning. The next phase leads up to a vote in August calling for a bond election in November.
The list of projects was developed over months of discussions and public listening sessions the Bond Oversight and Planning Committee (BOPC) conducted. The committee is made up of district administration, board members, and members of the OKCPS public.
The next step is for the BOPC to present the bond resolution to the Board in early August leading up to a final vote on the bond resolution and the call for election at the August 15 Board meeting.
If the Board calls for the bond election, the final step in the process started in September 2021 would be the campaign and public information push to convince voters to approve the bond.
Bonds are how public schools borrow money. Bonds are purchased by investors and are paid back with interest by the taxpayers in the school district through tax levies on property.
Projects selected
Southside District 7 Board Member Gloria Torres held out for a completely new fourth high school to be established in the southern part of the district in addition to the three overburdened neighborhood high schools already there: Capitol Hill, Grant, and Southeast.
The P2G plan implemented in 2019 relieved some pressure on the three high schools by zoning some students on the south side into Northwest Classen High School at N.W. 30th and May. But, the pressure is now being felt there, too.
Emerson South Mid-High School is located on the south side but is an alternative program that does little to relieve the numbers pressure on the other three neighborhood high schools there.
Although a new high school building is on the list for Capitol Hill High School on the south side, no new high school is called for in the list the BOPC presented to the board Monday. District officials believe from demographic studies that the explosion of children seen on the south side over the last decade will not continue.
As a protest for no new high school on the south side, Torres cast the lone dissenting vote for the proposed list.
The total bond would cover what Supt. Sean McDaniel calls three “buckets” of expenditures:
- Yearly capital purchases like band instruments and busses
- Key capital improvement projects for each of the existing schools like playgrounds
- Transformational projects that would represent large changes in the district’s facilities, like a regional stadium
Transformational projects
The following transformational projects were selected by the Board Monday for further planning:
Capitol Hill High School Feeder Pattern
- New Capitol Hill High School
- New Middle School – Combining Capitol Hill & Wheeler
Douglass High School Feeder Pattern
- Douglass High School Flexible Space Addition
- FD Moon Middle School Gym & Locker Room Renovation
John Marshall Enterprise High School Feeder Pattern
- John Marshall Enterprise Middle School Multi-Building Renovation
- John Marshall Enterprise High School Flexible Space Addition
- Regional Stadium Addition
NW Classen High School Feeder Pattern
- New Middle School – Combing Taft & Taft-Linwood (5th – 8th)
- NW Classen High School Flexible Space Addition
Star Spencer High School Feeder Pattern
- Star Spencer High School Gymnasium Addition
- Star Spencer High School Flexible Space Addition
- Star Spencer High School Entrance & Administration Remodel
US Grant High School Feeder Pattern
- US Grant High School Flexible Space Addition
- US Grant High School Cafeteria Expansion & Outdoor Eating Area
- Jefferson Middle School Competitive Gym Addition
Application Schools
- New Belle Isle Enterprise High School (9th – 12th)
- Classen SAS Middle School Auditorium Renovation
- Southeast High School Auditorium Renovation
- Southeast High School Aviation Program Space Renovation
District Administration will work with each school and school community to establish programming for their flexible learning space. Below are examples of possible programming options.
- College and Career
- Vo-Ag (FFA & 4H)
- Aerospace / Aviation
- Trades – Workforce Development
- Mechanics
- Film Production & Studio Arts
- eSports
- STEAM / Innovation Space
- Visual & Performing Arts
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
