To the Editor:
Ihope this letter finds you cool and in the comfort of your a/c. The hot, blistering temperatures of this summer have not been for the faint of heart. I write to you with sincere appreciation, but also with deep concern.
Last week, the people voted in favor of a bond resolution for Newcastle Public Schools. I say in favor of it because it would have passed if the 3/5th rule of Section X Article 26 didn’t apply, ie … a supermajority. This one gets me each and every time. The majority should always have it no matter what the election. Our Republican governor’s primary runoff was decided by a mere 2,047 votes, 0.6% of a marginal difference. Can you imagine if every elected seat was a supermajority? We would never get people elected. I was ultimately impressed with McClain County voters and the fact that they even showed up. Last November, when NPS was the only reason we had anything to vote on, only 1,026 voters even bothered to show. Once again, that supermajority rule had us 67 votes shy of what was needed to improve things for kids. My question is … did the difference of 1,021 people truly show up for kids this time too … ? Or was it because the Governor’s race was truly all they cared about?
I am appreciative, but I am still discouraged. I am fearful that many just truly do not understand what is happening in Newcastle. That is my plea to you today. Please follow along with me for a moment.
Newcastle is a direct suburb of Oklahoma City. The two cities literally share city boundaries. If you are not keen on how fast OKC is growing, I would encourage you to go to YouTube and listen to Mayor David Holt’s most recent State of the City address to the public on July 15. The first 12-16 minutes discussed why OKC has exploded in growth the way that it has. At the 5:43 mark, he specifically states, “We’ve long since passed the benefits of mere retention, at a pace, unprecedented, in most of our city’s history … people are moving here!”
Once you listen to these advancements and improvements year after year in Oklahoma City, you will completely understand why Newcastle, as well as all other suburbs of Oklahoma City are also growing and expanding. Newcastle is not the only one. Anything that touches OKC faces similar problems and challenges, as we do. It would be unbelievably irresponsible for us as a community, young and old, not to care about the future of what’s to come. We must realize that the growth will happen whether we want it to or not. The advancements and improvements have begun to take shape whether we felt like they should have been prioritized or not.
I have served on numerous committees in Newcastle over the past 15 years. Everything from Long Term Planning and City Council to Parks & Recreation to School Board. Every meeting is the same; we know what’s coming down the pipeline. We see the numbers. We cannot stop it or slow it down. We must get ahead of it before it runs us over. Every single committee and board have been discussing this day after day, year after year. I am incredibly grateful that we have like-minded individuals who can appreciate that growth and try to plan for it rather than turn a blind eye and pretend it will go away.
I realize that property taxes are a heavy part of this conversation. To be fair, my property taxes also went up last year … shoot, they go up almost every year by a few dollars, give or take. The only time they ever went down was when Senator Sacchieri served as County Assessor. Who knows why or why not. I’m a firm believer in Property Tax Reformation and wholeheartedly back the conversation. People like my own grandparents, parents, and others that I love dearly are taxed beyond their fixed incomes. We do have to fix this; however, we cannot keep praying it will course-correct itself by short-changing children in our school district.
The Oklahoma Constitution literally strong-arms the way that schools can build and grow. Bonding is seemingly the only way. 70 O.S. § 1-117 (OSCN 2026): Any new buildings, new land acquisitions, major remodeling that changes roof structures or load-bearing walls … it is all defined as capital. The big rule is that a school district’s General Fund is supposed to pay for current operating expenses — not major construction/ capital projects. The statute specifically says General Fund expenditures generally must be non capital. I am proud of NPS’s fiscally responsible team for not breaking the law and for doing things by the Constitution.
We can’t keep short-changing kids when we know what we know. Dr. Walker and the district have been incredibly transparent on the comprehensive plan. It’s no secret that a bigger bond will be necessary when this 2022 bond expires and is paid off. These little bonds being pursued are merely to get ahead of projects we know are necessary but will not push the mills to a point of raising taxes. It would also be nice to take advantage of construction costs before they rise even more. As you all know, that’s also a complete battle in itself.
I appreciate if you have read to this point. Our family loves it here. We want to raise kids and grandkids here, just as our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents planted the seeds here for us, so many generations ago. I hope that you will all do your own homework on the semantics of the growth in and around us to understand why Newcastle is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. We will never stop it.
We will never slow it down. But we can leave this city better than we found it, no matter what year you began calling it home sweet home. We can shape it and invest in those who will also call it home some time in the future. Most sincerely, Tiffany Elcyzyn
