We have failed our students and our community by not passing the recently proposed $10.7 million bond issue.
Passage would not have increased the millage rates on properties, and these types of bond issues are a key part of school infrastructure and building funding in Oklahoma.
It should have been an easy decision. Because of our growing school district we have a growing amount of residences that provide property taxes, and saying yes at this election would have allowed our school district to layer bond issues on top of each other as each one gets paid off. These funds could have been used to take care of some immediate needs without changing the millage on our properties.
It was the perfect time to provide for our growing district, while providing for our future.
Some of the best school districts in the state successfully use this model to provide for their districts. For example, Edmond Public Schools’ patrons have approved 62 bond issues in a row for their students. Most of their more recent ones have been layered without a millage increase.
It’s regrettable that so many Newcastle residents will just vote no on anything tax related, but they won’t take the time to really understand Oklahoma school financing. This problem was compounded by the amount of bad information being spread on social media.
On the other hand, the Newcastle Pacer provided every opportunity for residents to understand what was being proposed. As well, the majority of school district voters said yes to this bond issue. In fact, another 67 yes votes would have given the 60% supermajority needed.
Voter apathy continues to be a problem here. Out of a possible 9,499 registered voters in the school district, only 1,026 took part. This is only 10.8% participation. Eighty-nine percent of voters gave up their right to make a decision.
We missed a great opportunity. We could have continued providing for the needs of our students and district by layering bond issues at the same millage. We suggest rerunning this same bond issue or something very similar as soon as possible. It is our understanding that this is exactly what Newcastle Public Schools intends to do (see related story on election outcome on page 8).
