OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS
88 to 70. There are currently 72 structures operated by the district with plans to further streamline the number of buildings operated. Plans included a new downtown elementary charter school - John W. Rex Elementary - completed in 2014. 10 In total, six new district schools were constructed using MAPS for Kids funding. Elementary schools include Cesar Chavez Elementary School, John W. Rex Elementary School, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. New middle and high schools include Douglass Mid-High School, U.S. Grant High School, and John Marshall Enterprise Mid-High School. The first major construction project at the new Douglas Mid-High School began in January 2004, and nearly all MAPS for Kids projects were fully completed by 2018. The city council terminated the OKC MAPS Trust, the governing body responsible for managing MAPS for Kids funds, in 2018. 11 Bond Funding Issues . MAPS for Kids provided the funding to bring aging district facilities up to date after struggling for years to maintain the existing school system infrastructure. At the time of the MAPS for Kids vote in 2001, the age of buildings in the district averaged 57 years and many were deteriorating due to deferred maintenance. The average life expectancy for the buildings was 50 years. Excess capacity due to falling enrollment contributed to the maintenance and upkeep burden. The district’s bus fleet was similarly extended well beyond its expected life and the information technology used across the district lagged far behind current standards. The inability of the district to obtain bond funding approval from voters in prior years had long hampered the maintenance of buildings and the purchase of updated and upgraded equipment and vehicles in the district. In the three decades from 1970 to 1999, only four of ten school bond proposals were approved by district voters. 12 This compared to the passage of 36 bond proposals in Mid-Dell, 28 in Putnam City, and 41 in Edmond in the period. The district was forced to use operating funds to make capital improvements and perform ongoing repairs and maintenance, including the removal of asbestos from buildings. Voter reluctance to support district bond issues shifted with the passage of MAPS for Kids. The Yes for Kids initiative in 2007 resulted in the passage (79% approval) of a $248 million bond issue for site acquisition, building construction and renovation, equipment for new school facilities, and updated information technology and transportation equipment. 13 In the subsequent Yes to Yellow bond effort in 2016, voters approved (65% approval) bonds totaling $180 million for maintenance, fine arts, athletics, information technology, and transportation needs. 14 School Quality and Living Choices . A key economic development issue underlying MAPS for Kids is the role played by the quality of the school district in contributing to economic growth in the city. The MAPS for Kids initiative is based on the underlying premise that school quality and the decision of where to live are closely related. Project KIDS similarly recognized the role played by the quality of the school district and its aging facilities in the choice of families to live outside the Oklahoma City school district. “ The Oklahoma City Public School District is not the first choice for many in our community who have school-aged children. For the past 30 years, families have chosen to leave our District or select other educational options .” Project KIDS Report (2001)
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