BIXBY, Okla. — As the city continues to grow rapidly, Bixby Public Schools hopes to secure $12 million through a school bond election to keep up.
Two separate propositions are being put to the voters.
One allocates half a million dollars to improving the district's bus fleet.
The second and the majority of the money would go towards campus improvements and projects to ensure as enrollment numbers go up, there is enough space to accommodate the increase.
Superintendent Rob Miller told 2 News that Bixby does not issue bonds each year, and this one is small compared to previous elections. However, securing these dollars is imperative to the district's future.
“We recently got the results of our demographic study and are projected to continue to grow and a three and a half to four 4% rate over the next decade,” said Miller. “About 3000 kids between now and a decade from now, so we know that we have to be very proactive, we need to continue to invest in building classroom capacity, as well as making sure we have spaces for our activities, athletics, and the resources teachers and students need to thrive.”
The big ticket items coming out of this bond are a new gym in the 9th-grade building, purchasing land for a new elementary school, and investing in technology as the district switches over to having Apple products in classrooms.
One million dollars is for purchasing textbooks. Another million dollars to maintain existing buildings and keep up with things like HVAC needs and furniture replacements.
Bixby most recently passed bonds for the district in 2022, 2016, and 2011, all with an 80% or higher passage rate. Miller said these funds help the district stay ahead, so when the time comes they may need a new building, they already have some money in place.
“Probably in ’27, ’28, we're going to need to build a new campus south of the river and in order to stay ahead of that, we want to make sure that we procure the land for that site before everything else develops because this land has been bought up very quickly, both commercial and residential and we want to make sure that we've got that land while it's still affordable and available,” said Miller.
Class size is a concern, with the demographic study projecting graduating classes to be in the eight hundreds for each grade level in the next ten years. Right now, classes are in the five to six hundred student range.
“That growth is going to continue to happen very rapidly,” said Miller. “I think people in Bixby know that. They see it every day. There's not much we can do to stem that they're coming. You know the old slogan, ‘build it and they will come?’ Our slogan is ‘they're coming, we better build it.’”
While it has a smaller dollar sign attached, Miller said this bond is equally important as it allows BPS to address needs to better prepare them for the future. If this bond were to fail, the district would turn to its general fund, which is used for things like hiring teachers and paying staff salaries.
“We've got great families, great partners and they've always supported us,” said Miller. “I have full confidence that they'll do so again. And we work hard to earn that trust so that they know that we're spending those monies prudently and only for things that are true needs.”
This bond would not raise property taxes if passed.
The district has $85 million worth of current projects, including the Spartan Stadium, a new high school, a new administration building, and a gym at East Intermediate.
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