Edmond Public Schools is presenting voters with two bond proposals in the Feb. 10 election, one of which seeks more than $100 million to complete construction of two new schools in east Edmond, where city leaders predict significant growth over the next two decades. EPS’ second bond proposal aims to fund $3.65 million in new buses and vehicles.
The planned Post Oak Elementary and Horizon Middle School campuses will both be located on the southeast corner of Air Depot Boulevard and Covell Road, with Post Oak set to open this fall. Horizon is currently scheduled to open by fall 2028.
School districts in Oklahoma fund building projects and infrastructure investments through bonds — or loans — paid back over time with property taxes. While property tax rates within EPS boundaries would not increase if the bond votes receive the 60 percent support required for passage, school districts sometimes face opposition from residents who would like to see existing property tax rates expire. EPS has historically found strong support for its bond proposals — the first phases for Post Oak and Horizon were easily approved with nearly 80 percent support in February 2024 — but area voters roundly rejected a bond package in November 2024 that would have established the City of Edmond’s first property tax.
The Feb. 10 election is open to all registered voters within the EPS district, regardless of city or county of residence. Slightly more than 10,000 voters cast ballot for the February 2024 EPS bond packages.
Jeff Bardach, director of communications for EPS, said the district is “very fortunate to have the longstanding support of our community on these bond issues.”
“However, if a bond doesn’t pass, the district would have to look at using our General Fund to pay for some of these projects,” Bardach said. “That would mean we would not be able to complete many of these proposed projects.”
Anthony Rose, executive director of Educational Services for EPS, presented election information at the Jan. 15 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting.
“If you drive out to [Post Oak], it’s already coming up. And we just hired the school’s first principal last month,” Rose said. “It’s already starting to look like a school.”
Bardach said school boundary redistricting is expected to occur sometime in the spring ahead of the new campuses opening, but no dates have been finalized yet.
Rose said some funding within the first proposition is set to finalize construction of a freshman academy at Sante Fe High School, much like those already on the Edmond North High School and Edmond Memorial High School campuses.
“We are going to build them their own nice freshman academy with a separate cafeteria, two [stories] like the other high schools,” Rose said. “It’s already under construction. This will finish (it) out, and they will open in August 2027.”
Other items that would be funded within the first $136 million bond proposition include:
- Playground updates and enhancements at all EPS elementary schools;
- Safety and security upgrades at all EPS schools;
- Secure entries at Angie Debo Elementary and Washington Irving Elementary;
- Classroom additions at Scissortail Elementary;
- Renovations and improvements at several sites including Will Rogers Elementary, Charles Haskell Elementary, Centennial Elementary, Northern Hills Elementary, Summit Middle School, Cimarron Middle School, Heartland Middle School, Sequoyah Middle School, Memorial High School and North High School;
- Purchase of new technology equipment;
- HVAC, roofing, flooring and lighting improvements district-wide;
- School equipment for instructional needs, fine arts, athletics, child nutrition, maintenance and library/media center books;
- Classroom furniture;
- Improvements to the Mitch Park Aquatic Center, as part of the district’s agreement with the YMCA; and
- Improvements to the Edmond Tennis Center, as part of the district’s agreement with the City of Edmond.
The second, narrower proposition for new buses seeks $3.65 million to fund the fleet expansion.
Rose said EPS leaders are not discussing the addition of a fourth high school at the moment.
“I think we have to grow a lot more to do that,” Rose said. “And that takes a couple bond issues.”
Beyond building projects, Rose noted how bond funding also helps his department secure standard curriculum materials across subjects.
“These bond funds pay for a textbook adoption,” Rose said. “We don’t even get enough from the state to do a full textbook adoption for one curricular area. So this is why we desperately need those funds.”
Brad Raney, the City of Edmond’s director of parks and recreation, expounded on the projects for which EPS and the city are partnering, like upgrades to the tennis center and the Mitch Park competition pool.
“We have to begin resurfacing the courts there just to keep up the maintenance. So [EPS is] setting aside money, and then we work together and split it 50/50,” Raney said. “The competition pool, it’s kind of a similar arrangement. (…) There’s ongoing issues with the HVAC system.”
Election Day voting runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10. Early voting runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, and Friday, Feb. 6, at the Oklahoma County Election Board’s office, 4201 N Lincoln Blvd. in Oklahoma City. Voters can locate their Election Day polling place on the State Election Board website.
