Results Map: Muskogee voters pass $110M school bond

(click to view larger)

Voters in Muskogee approved a $110M school bond today with 68.15% of the vote, clearing the 60% approval threshold for bond passage. The above graphic shows precinct-by-precinct results, illustrating the percentages above or below the 60% mark in each voting district.

Two minuscule precincts were unanimous in their voting -- Precinct 36 (the far western edge of the school district) had five votes cast in favor and none opposed, while Precinct 46 (the darkest red) has a single vote cast in opposition and none in favor.

Aside from the unanimous precincts, the top three precincts for the Yes vote were Precinct 23 (84.4% yes; 238-44), Precinct 17 (83.05% yes; 98-20), and Precinct 38 (79.96% yes; 455-114).

The top three precincts voting No were Precinct 55 (49.06% yes; 26-27, the only outright majority for the No side), Precinct 45 (54.04% yes, 107-91), and Precinct 37 (56.67% yes, 17-13).

Below is a table with results by precinct. I'm hoping the formatting holds and is readable. If not, you can go to the State Election Board website and navigate through their results page, find the Muskogee election, click 'View As', then 'County Details', then click 'Precincts' to get the raw figures without percentages.

Precinct	Yes vote	%	No vote	%	Total Vote	+/- 60%
5	246	61.50%	154	38.50%	400	+1.5%
7	457	63.03%	268	36.97%	725	+3.03%
9	423	67.79%	201	32.21%	624	+7.79%
11	95	60.90%	61	39.10%	156	+0.9%
13	147	59.76%	99	40.24%	246	-0.24%
17	98	83.05%	20	16.95%	118	+23.05%
21	177	75.64%	57	24.36%	234	+15.64%
22	278	71.47%	111	28.53%	389	+11.47%
23	238	84.40%	44	15.60%	282	+24.4%
28	100	68.03%	47	31.97%	147	+8.03%
36	5	100%	0	0%	5	+40%
37	128	58.45%	91	41.55%	219	-1.55%
38	455	79.96%	114	20.04%	569	+19.96%
45	107	54.04%	91	45.96%	198	-5.96%
46	0	0%	1	100%	1	-60%
47	45	66.18%	23	33.82%	68	+6.18%
49	13	68.42%	6	31.58%	19	+8.42%
55	26	49.06%	27	50.94%	53	-10.94%
61	17	56.67%	13	43.33%	30	-3.33%
	3055	68.15%	1428	31.85%	4483	+8.15%

Muskogee voters to decide on $110M school bond today

Today, voters in Muskogee will be deciding on whether to adopt or reject a $110,000,000 school bond, the largest ever considered in the Muskogee Public Schools district. The proposal would spend $37,000,000 on a new football stadium and athletic complex, $5,000,000 on upgraded technology, and about $68,000,000 on demolition/reconstruction or remodeling of most school sites within the district.

The bond would increase the school district's portion of property taxes from 20 mils to about 32 mils, costing approximately $120 per year on a $100,000 property.

The district chose to pursue a lease-purchase bond instead of the more-traditional general obligation bond. Under a lease-purchase bond, the district obtains a loan for the full amount up front in order to begin construction and spending, as opposed to waiting for property tax collections to start coming in before projects can move forward. Lease-purchase bonds have been controversial in the past, as they essentially allow schools to bypass constitutional limits on indebtedness and can tie up bond capacity for longer periods of time than traditional bonds.

Voters in the district approved a bond in 2013, about 38% of which has not yet been collected and spent. This proposed bond was touted by school administration as a 12-year obligation, but a recent article in the Muskogee Phoenix quoted County Assessor Ron Dean as saying that it could extend into 16 years, depending on local growth rates.

Some highlights of the bond election details:

• Activity Center and Varsity Stadium: $37,000,000
• Freshman Academy @ Alice Robertson: $18,000,000
• Tony Goetz Elementary: $13,000,000
• Muskogee High School: $12,000,000
• Sadler Arts Academy: $10,000,000
• Early Childhood Center: $6,000,000
• Technology acquisition and installation: $5,000,000
• Benjamin Franklin Science Academy: $2,000,000
• Grant Foreman Elementary: $2,000,000
• Irving Elementary: $1,000,000
• Creek Elementary: $1,000,000
• Pershing Elementary: $1,000,000
• New Tech at Cherokee Elementary: $1,000,000
• Whittier Elementary: $1,000,000
• TOTAL: $110,000,000

According to the 2017 Bond Transparency Act fact-sheet posted by MPS, there is still about $18,000,000 remaining to be collected and spent from a bond that was passed in 2013. Those bonds would still be collected and allocated as specified regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's vote.

You can view specific building projects, maps and details at this link. You can see concept renderings of the proposed building projects here, also provided by MPS.

School bonds require a 60% affirmative vote for passage. The last bonds received over 80% of the vote. However, the high percentage of funds in this round going toward a new stadium and athletic facilities has sparked more opposition than usual, it would seem.

The below graphic shows the proposed schedule of construction if the bond is approved. Projects on the athletics complex, Alice Robertson and Tony Goetz schools would begin almost immediately, while the rest of the schools wouldn't see work until mid-late 2020 or late 2021.

Due to the structure of the lease-purchase bond, about $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 would go to paying the bond owners. There's a lot of late-breaking conflicting information (this didn't seem to get covered in the MPS campaign materials), some saying that it's figured into the $110,000,000 figure (such as the aforementioned Phoenix article) and others saying that it would be on top of the full bond price. I'll be honest, bonds aren't my specialty. 

MPS estimates that the top per-year cost of the bond would be about $60 for a $50,000 assessed property, $120 for a $100,000 property, $240 for a $200,000 property, and so on.

Polls will be open from 7am to 7pm. Don't forget to exercise your right to vote, as this will impact everyone who lives within the MPS district.

Barton wins Muskogee School Board runoff by ONE vote

Incumbent Muskogee School Board member John Barton appears to have won reelection (barring a recount that finds otherwise) by JUST ONE VOTE.

Your vote matters.

UPDATE: There is one provisional ballot that will be opened and counted on Friday. If the result is a tie, under Oklahoma Statute §26-8-105 the election board secretary will draw the winner by lot.

Muskogee Board of Education Approves Pay Raises Despite Funding Cuts

The Muskogee Board of Education approved agreements with two school unions that included pay raises, despite the fact that the district is facing funding cuts in state funding.

New teachers will be receiving a $325 raise over last year, and support personnel will get $0.10 more per hour (a rather measly pay raise, if you ask me).

This all comes at a time when the school district had nearly 3% cut from its state funds for August, which could grow to a five percent cut in the coming months. Also, in 2012 the Muskogee Public Schools will be have a 15% cut in funding, due to the stimulus money and Title 1 money coming to an end.

John Little, the chief financial officer for MPS, is hoping that the legislature will allocate money from the Rainy Day Fund to help cover the shortfall, and this brings out the real motive.

The Oklahoma Education Association and other liberal unions and organizations have been calling for the legislature to convene a special session to disperse money from the Rainy Day Fund, since the state had a budget shortfall this year.

Calling a special session would cost the state more money, and we should not be raiding the Rainy Day Fund at this time. School districts and other state agencies should tighten their belts, and not hand out pay raises when they know they can't afford them.

The Rainy Day Fund is for the state government to use in dire financial straits, not to cover pay raises that should never have been issued in the first place by greedy agencies.