Access the Bond Resolution HERE

Access the 2023 Bond Election Flyer HERE

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Fine arts practice and performance space upgrades part of bond proposal (August 22, 2023)

Mid-Del School District calls for $492M bond issue (7-24-2023)

Safety and security top priority in bond proposal (8-10-2023)

Mid-Del Schools preparing for bond election (9-22-22) Midwest City Beacon

Schools float idea of pool in bond issue (4-5-2023) Midwest City Beacon

Mid-Del Schools discusses multipurpose facility and classroom additions at final bond steering committee meeting (4-18-2023) Midwest City Beacon

The Mid-Del Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution calling for the school district’s next bond election. This is the largest bond issue the district has ever proposed, coming in at $492.7 million. In the upcoming weeks, as we approach the October 10 election date, district leaders and I will use every tool available to communicate what passing this bond will mean for Mid-Del’s students, and for the community as a whole.

First, let me explain how we arrived at this point. 

We started planning for this bond election last summer. As the school year was approaching, we commissioned a building assessment for every property we own to determine the structural and aesthetic conditions of each campus. When teachers and students arrived, I met with every school’s staff, as well as several of our departments. Each conversation started with two simple questions. What are the greatest facility needs you know of in your workspace, and what are the greatest facility needs you know of around the district? 

These conversations led to volumes of notes – enough to fill a small binder. The most important overarching theme that emerged was safety and security. Other site-specific needs were frequently repeated, especially at some of our older schools.

Later in the Fall, we held four evening community meetings around the district. The patrons in attendance echoed these same concerns. By this point we had enough feedback to identify themes and put together two surveys: one for the community, and one for staff. In total, about 800 people responded, again with safety and security concerns rising to the top.

Prior to Winter Break, we received the results of the building assessment, recommending roughly $80-90 million worth of maintenance and upgrades to our facilities. From all of this input, we created a list of potential bond projects.

From that list, we worked with our industry partners to develop cost estimates for each. Quickly it became clear that we needed help from our community and staff to establish priorities. We formed a bond steering committee and held four meetings this Spring. During the last two, we split into tabletop groups and worked through budgets. While this was critical in helping us see which projects had consensus support, many that fell below the budget cut line were also incredibly popular. The question I kept getting was, “how can we get more?”

In May, the Board of Education asked me the same question, so my team and I put a plan together, and working with our bond advisor, we were able to capture most every priority that came from a year of planning. For that, I am incredibly grateful to all who have participated in the process up to this point.

As the Board was gathering to vote on the bond resolution, someone who participated in the steering committee meetings asked me, “Now will we be able to catch up with the districts around us?” My response was, “I’m tired of catching up. This is Mid-Del. We need to lead.” And that in a nutshell is how we reached this point.