Citing “irreconcilable” views between himself and a board member, Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Sean McDaniel submitted a resignation letter to the district’s board this morning.
After six years at the helm of OKCPS that included reshaping district feeder patterns and closing several sites in an effort to rebuild capacity at remaining elementary schools, McDaniel will depart June 30, which marks the end of the fiscal year. McDaniel’s departure comes as the district faces decisions over how to execute about $700 million of remaining bond projects, which have drawn scrutiny from Capitol Hill community members and other district stakeholders.
“As you know, a particular member of this board and I have completely different views regarding individual board members’ roles and responsibilities and mine in serving this district,” McDaniel wrote in his resignation letter. “For months, and in good faith I have tried to bridge that gulf through conversations with the board and with concessions I have been willing to make, but to no avail. I regret that our differing views of who should administer the district on a daily-basis are now irreconcilable.”
McDaniel did not name the board member in his letter, although several board members — including Chairwoman Paula Lewis — recently voted contrary to McDaniel’s recommendations on a series of charter school applications.
Lewis did not respond to a request for comment prior to the publication of this article, but she did issue a statement.
“The board is thankful for Dr. McDaniel’s service over the last six years and is so proud of the stability in leadership he brought to OKCPS,” Lewis said.
Records indicate that the OKCPS Board had discussed McDaniel’s employment at two separate meetings this year — the first in an executive session Jan. 22, and the second in a special meeting called Feb. 5. That meeting’s agenda indicates it was called for the sole purpose of convening into executive session to discuss McDaniel’s employment. Executive session discussions are not public, and the board took no votes as a result of those discussions.
In her statement, Lewis said the board would be initiating its search for a new superintendent in the coming weeks.
“Through his six years with OKCPS, Dr. McDaniel has brought long-lasting change and an innovative approach to improving our district,” Lewis said. “Most notably, with the support of the Board of Education, OKCPS was able to plan, develop and successfully pass a $955 million bond package in November 2022. The results of the bond will be life changing for our students.”
District faces decision on bond projects: GO or lease-purchase?
Although voters authorized OKCPS to issue $955 million in general obligation bonds for school projects, state statute prohibits school districts from incurring debt that exceeds 10 percent of taxable property within the district. The statute often requires districts to spend bond money slowly over time to avoid exceeding that cap.
With $233.5 million of bonds from the 2022 vote already issued and other existing debt trickling off the books, OKCPS lacks the traditional bonding capacity to roll out the hundreds of total projects McDaniel hoped to see take shape sooner than later.
While past OKCPS bond programs have played out over a decade or more, McDaniel had been pushing for this set of bonds to be expedited over the next two or three years. But because of the 10 percent cap, McDaniel had proposed using a series of lease-purchase bond agreements that would feature slightly higher interest rates but faster cash flow to complete projects more quickly.
He discussed the difference between traditional general obligation bonds and lease-purchase bonds with NonDoc following a Dec. 4 board meeting.
“So general obligation: save, spend, save, spend, save, spend,” McDaniel said. “(The) lease-purchase model is where you get all of your money — or the bulk of your money — up front.”
McDaniel’s perspective had drawn some confusion and concern among board members and community leaders who questioned the wisdom of taking out lease-purchase loans that would feature higher interest rates than GO bonds.
McDaniel, however, argued that his proposal would allow the district to complete projects faster and offer the benefits of the bond proposals to families whose kids are currently attending the district. Additionally, McDaniel said his plan could lead to long-term cost savings because completing projects faster would allow the district to avoid rising labor and material costs.
“For as long as lease-purchase options have been in existence, what you’re hedging against is that your interest rate — though higher for a lease-purchase program — is going to be less than your construction cost increase,” McDaniel said. “So now I say, ‘OK, let’s not wait too long, let’s get all 400 projects on the ground within five years.’ I am saving on that projected construction cost at scale. And that’s a lot of money. If I just said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna do GO (bonds), and 18 years from now, we’ll get to our last project,’ I’m (then) paying a ton in construction cost inflation.”
Charter proposals showed split between board, McDaniel
At a Nov. 27 meeting, some board members went against McDaniel’s wishes regarding new charter school proposals. Four potential charter schools each had applications for authorization before the board, and McDaniel recommended denying each one and sending them back for revisions, a typical part of the charter school application process.
But board members approved one charter school at that meeting in a split vote. While they did not specifically address McDaniel’s recommendations, they indicated that they were excited for the school’s Montessori model to bring new options for students.
The other three school applicants’ revised proposals came back before the board Jan. 8. At that meeting, McDaniel’s recommendations ultimately prevailed, with the board approving one school proposal and denying the other two. However, Lewis and other board members voted in favor of the schools McDaniel opposed.
McDaniel said at both meetings that he is not against charter schools, instead that he wants to make sure that they can be successful once approved.
“I can tell you that the charters that we currently sponsor — and then the representatives from these applicants — I’ve been in rooms with them, and we’re not adversarial,” McDaniel said Jan. 8. “They support us. We support them.”
Read the Sean McDaniel resignation letter
Dear Board Members,
With this email I am resigning my position as superintendent of schools of the Oklahoma City Public Schools effective at 5:00 p.m. on June 30, 2024.
This resignation comes only after many forthright and candid discussions with each of you.
As you know, a particular member of this board and I have completely different views regarding individual board members’ roles and responsibilities and mine in serving this district. For months, and in good faith I have tried to bridge that gulf through conversations with the board and with concessions I have been willing to make, but to no avail. I regret that our differing views of who should administer the district on a daily-basis are now irreconcilable.
Rest assured that I will competently and diligently continue with my duties under my contract until June 30. My hope is that this frees the board to engage in a superintendent search, while maintaining continuity in district operations.
To those of you on the board who have offered your encouragement and support, I appreciate you.
It has been a great honor to serve this wonderful community for the past six years. I have made many friends here and my affection for this district, its students, staff and patrons will long abide.
With kindest regards,
Sean McDaniel, Ed.D.
