OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS
MAPS for Kids Prior to the completion of the original MAPS projects, voters approved funding for MAPS for Kids to provide a comprehensive overhaul to public education infrastructure in Oklahoma City. The $694 million initiative passed on November 13, 2001 with a 61 percent majority, the largest among the three major MAPS programs to date. Infrastructure Crisis . The Oklahoma City public school (OKCPS) system, the largest in the state, has faced numerous challenges in recent decades. These challenges include a long-term drop in enrollment (from approximately 75,000 in the late 1960s to only about 40,000 currently), demographic shifts 7 , issues attracting and retaining teachers, student performance challenges, aging facilities, and financial constraints. MAPS for Kids focused on remedying the last two of these long-standing challenges – aging facilities and financial constraints. The revitalization of education infrastructure through MAPS for Kids was intended as a jumpstart for the Oklahoma City public school district, much like the original MAPS projects provided a jumpstart to downtown through the construction of core public infrastructure. 8 Project Kids, the foundational education reform effort leading to MAPS for Kids, focused on building a consensus among the City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City Public Schools, the District Board of Education and the Oklahoma Public Schools Foundation on reforms needed within the school district. 9 Led by civic, business, and community leaders, Project KIDS noted several reforms needed to bring the district up to modern standards, including the foundational issues of distressed, outdated, and inefficient buildings and aging transportation and information technology infrastructure. An overarching goal was to provide equal facilities to all schools in the district and eliminate any potential role that substandard facilities might play in the various challenges faced by the district. To the degree that substandard facilities contributed to enrollment and demographic shifts, school reconstruction would address these obstacles as well. Targeted Spending . The original $694 million budget for MAPS for Kids prioritized spending in four broad areas: • $470 million for OKC district school construction and renovation projects; • $52 million for information technology purchases and upgrades; • $9 million for transportation (primarily buses); and • $154 million split among 23 suburban school districts serving students living within the Oklahoma City limits. Funding included $514 million in city sales tax and a $180 million bond issue. Project funds were earmarked for bondable expenditures such as buildings, equipment, and vehicles, but excluded ongoing operating expenses such as salary. The MAPS for Kids 1 cent sales tax expired in 2008 after raising the approved funds. The initial proposal called for the closure of unneeded school buildings, construction of new schools, and at least $1 million in deferred maintenance and other renovations at every other district school. A key goal established within Project KIDS was to reduce the number of buildings operated by the district from
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