Love our kids
love our schools
love our community
Vote yes on February 14, 2023
WHY VOTE YES?
Continuing to invest in Norman Public Schools is critical for the success of our kids, school system, and community. A large majority of the General Fund goes to pay teacher and staff salaries. By law, school bonds cannot pay salaries. They do pay for textbooks, subscriptions, classroom technology, building repairs, and new facilities. Without bond funding, our kids, teachers, and buildings will not have the materials they need to be successful.
This bond is a step in a long- term plan to maintain and enhance excellent educational opportunities in Norman Public Schools. There are six key components to the 2023 bond:
​
1. Maintain Facilities
Many of our school buildings are more than 50 years old and some over 100. These buildings need repairs and upkeep in order to maintain our long-term investments. Our students and teachers deserve safe and clean learning environments.
​
2. Instructional Materials
Academics are the essential mission of any school district. To ensure our students have the very best possible educational experience, we must ensure they have access to the instructional materials they need. From textbooks and library books to subscriptions to learning software and technology, investment in this area is a large part of this bond.
We also know that in today's environment of staffing difficulties and competition for teachers, offering not just adequate, but attractive supports help us recruit and retain the very best teachers. Schools with modern, well-equipped facilities are often more appealing to teachers, who may be more likely to stay in a community with good schools. This can help to improve the quality of education in the community, as teachers are an essential part of the educational process.
​
3. Fine Arts and Athletics
Studies show that students who are actively engaged in extracurricular activities such as band, drama, athletics, FFA, and eSports are more likely to stay in school, and they perform better in the classroom.
​
Providing opportunities for students to connect with others and feel like they belong is important for social emotional growth as well as academic growth. This bond continues to invest in creating engaging opportunities for students in all areas. No matter a child's interest, there is something for everyone in this bond.
​
4. Transportation
Bond funds are essential to a district's ability to offer transportation. State funding simply isn't enough to cover this area of need and as such bond funds are critical to ensure all students have access to safe and effective transportation.
Recently the NPS Transportation team was awarded the Gold Standard Award by the Transportation Safety Administration, becoming the first school district in the nation, public or private, to achieve this standard for safety. Serving more than 9,000 students daily (more than half the district), it is time our Transportation team had a facility to match their Gold Standard performance.
​
5. Oklahoma Aviation Academy
The Oklahoma Aviation Academy opened in August of 2022 with 78 students. The students were chosen through a lottery because 160 students applied for the inaugural year which is 5 times more than expected. These classes are held in space loaned from OU at Max Westheimer Airport. With a matching grant from the state, this bond will build a stand alone facility that will accommodate up to 700 students.
Students can graduate with a private pilot license and two years of completed coursework toward their bachelor's degree in aviation. In a collaborative effort with Moore Norman Technology Center, students can work toward an industry certification as an aviation maintenance technician while in high school. Career pathways include flight, air traffic control, engineering, computer science, meteorology and mathematics. This is a huge opportunity for our kids as aviation is the second largest industry in Oklahoma.
​
6. Safety and Security
The 2019 bond provided storm shelters for every school site. This bond will continue to ensure the safety of our kids by building new classrooms to eliminate the use of portable buildings. The bond will also continue to invest in perimeter security, lighting, locks, cybersecurity, emergency access, and security upgrades.
​
​
​
For more details and site specific information please visit:
