Oklahoma City Public Schools is calling for a bond election this November.
If approved, it would be the largest in the history of the district and pay for $955 million in improvements across the district.
It would raise property taxes within OKCPS boundaries from 18 mills to 26 mills. That would represent an increase of $8 per $1,000 of assessed value.
“To put these numbers into perspective for homeowners, this increase for a home valued at $100,000 would be $6.41 a month or less than $80 a year,” according to a press release from the district.
The bond issue was unanimously approved by the Oklahoma City Public Schools' Board of Education in a meeting Monday afternoon.
“The successful passage of this bond will provide spaces for innovative learning, college and career programming, and will bring our students opportunities that will allow them to compete with their peers throughout this state. I believe that our community will successfully pass this bond; I believe that the successful package of this bond will be another step towards providing our students a world class education,” Board of Education Chair Paula Lewis said in a statement.
The bond would pay for some big projects: five new schools, a new multisport stadium and a bevy of renovations across the district.
Bond issues need 60 percent of voters to approve them to pass in Oklahoma. It would be the first property tax increase to pay for OKCPS improvements since 2000.
