Frequently Asked Questions
The following questions have been asked by concerned citizens about the upcoming bond issue.
1. What is our bonding capacity?
10% x $203,674,017 district valuation = $20,367,402 bonding capacity
2. What is our current level of indebtedness (% and total figure)?
$14,950,000 bonds outstanding as of 12/20/07 (73.4% of capacity)
3. How many years would we have to finance the bond issue to pay it off and keep it at no new taxes?
The current forecast is that it will take 10 years of bond sales in order to maintain our pledge of no new school taxes. This would keep our Sinking Fund millage levy between 26.00 and 27.00 mills (current rate is 26.65 mills). The reason that there will be any fluctuation within this range is that it's impossible to know the precise district valuation before our annual bond sale is authorized. We simply must make an educated guess based upon the information that is available at the time. As old debt is retired, new debt replaces it -- and this allows the district to keep school millage rates virtually unchanged from one year to the next.
But it's important to note that the school district is not the only agency/entity that has an effect on one's property taxes. Two significant factors for taxpayers to be aware of if they receive an increase/decrease on their annual tax statement are:
(1) The value of their property may have changed. If the County Assessor increases the assessed value of the property by 5% (the legal limit), then the tax bill will increase accordingly.
(2) Yukon Public Schools is only one of four public entities that are on the receiving end of ad-valorem tax collections. The others are Canadian County (10.3%), Canadian Valley Technology Center (13.5%) and the City of Yukon (13.4%). If the voters approve a bond issue for any one of these agencies, it may cause a change in the annual tax bill of the property owner. It's because of this very factor that the school's proportionate share of property taxes has actually decreased from 70.7% to 62.8% during the past five years. It has been a long-standing policy of the school board not to take on new any debt without first retiring old debt. This has allowed our district to maintain a consistent Sinking Fund millage for an extended period of time -- probably as consistent as one can find in the entire state.
4. How is the education of Yukon’s students going to improve with the current proposal? There has been a ton of information given on the athletic benefits, but what “exactly” will be done to improve the education?
The education of Yukon's students will improve by the addition of new labs, new technology, and more instructional space in a state of the art high school. With only one high school, a sense of unity is evident throughout Yukon. The community is behind YHS and another high school could split this current feeling of support. By having all grades 9-12 on one campus, curriculum alignment will be more easily attained; also, one comprehensive library will be available to all high school students; less administrative office space will be needed; and student scheduling will be in agreement between all grades. Your concern about "a ton of information given on athletic benefits" is noted, but our emphasis has been and will continue to focus on the improvements in our educational system which will primarily be our academic achievement and success of our students.
5. Given the rapid growth of Yukon and based on the information published in the Yukon Review, it is apparent that the new high school could be at or over capacity before it is ever completed. What happens if maximum capacity is reached within the first 3-5 years after completion?
The statement in the Yukon Review needs to be clarified. The square footage quoted does not accurately reflect the current use of space. The square footage reported for the current high school reflects not only the classrooms, but the Fine Arts Center Auditorium (47,000 sq. ft.), the ag barns (6,000 sq. ft.) and the alternative school (2,000 sq. ft.). The new facility will have more actual square footage for classrooms and other instructional use. At our present high school campus, we have two (2) library spaces, two (2) administrative office spaces, and two (2) gym areas just to give you an example of how the new campus will be utilizing space much more efficiently.
6. Why aren’t a 2nd high school and an additional elementary school being planned rather than constructing one massive high school? The current plan to combine middles schools is a mere shift of the overcrowding problem. The middle schools currently do not have an overcrowding problem, do they?
At this time, a second high school is not in the best interest of our school district. If a second high school was opened, we would split our current population which could cause several different areas of concern. One would be two high schools in a lower class division, not just for athletics, but also for band, speech, academic bowl, and music. It is also important in the academic area in 6A. Another example could be to keep one school as 6A - which would probably be the smallest in the state and the second school would be a lower class division. That scenario would not be beneficial to either school. While, we may need to look at that possibility when our high school population reaches 3,000 students, the present concern is that every elementary school in Yukon is near or at capacity. Every elementary school has housing additions currently being built that will soon add to their population. Finally, by school year 2011-12, every elementary must offer full-day kindergarten which will double the number of classrooms needed for kindergarten.
7) The current plan of bussing several hundred children will cause increased traffic flow in both directions across two major railroad crossings, which are currently a hazard for this city as there have been several injuries and at least one Yukon High School student death.
We have been assured by the City Manager Jim Crosby that all of the safety issues with the railroad are being addressed and corrected as Highway 4 is upgraded to a four-lane road. The City of Yukon, the Oklahoma State Department of Transportation, and the railroad are working together to make this area safe for our students and the community. The railroad issue will be resolved before the school campus is built.
8) Has it been proposed to build a second high school (YUKON EAST) along with an additional elementary school thus allowing growth and more educational opportunities in both age directions? This would allow the current infrastructure in to remain in tact.
This question was answered in #6 above.
9) Has the school board addressed the concern over a student’s “getting lost” in the massive number with a single high school? Will there be more opportunities for scholarships? Will there be more teachers added to help keep the student-to-teacher ratio at a desirable level? What is the school board’s plan to hire more teachers?
We will maintain high standards for Yukon students. We will hire teachers as they are needed to keep the student-teacher ratio at the desired level. Also, the availability of scholarships is not based on the number of students; Yukon students have and will continue to receive scholarships. Yukon has been competing at a high academic level that puts us in the same educational achievement category as Jenks (2,908), Union (4,121), and Broken Arrow (4,395). In fact, the only 6A school to have higher test scores in the state of Oklahoma last year was Jenks.
10) What is the reasoning with putting all middle school students in one school? This will significantly reduce the opportunities for so many kids relating to team sports, cheerleading, student council, etc. as this is where leadership characteristics in our youth normally begin to take shape….
Both middle schools are at capacity and do have major overcrowding problems. With this realignment, we will be able to further enhance the true middle school concept and offer as many options to our students as possible. We will increase the number of activities, academic studies, and leadership development opportunities. At the new middle school location,that facility will be considered top-of-the line for Oklahoma
middle schools.
11) It has been published in the Yukon Review that the present high school is 305,000 square feet for 2100 students and the proposed new high school is 350,000 square feet for 2500 students. This actually drops the square footage per student for grades 9-12. Without knowing the square footage of the current middle schools, how does this proposal affect the square footage per student for grades 6-8?
The square footage issue was addressed in question #2. I would just emphasize that it is difficult to compare on a square footage basis because of the differences in the two campuses. We have a forty year old school that has had over 20 renovations and has duplication of several areas. Our new campus will provide more efficient use of square
footage.
12) Why would $90 million be spent and the square footage per student be reduced?
$92.4 million bond issue will not be all spent on the new high school campus. The break-down is $66 million for the high school complex, $23 million for technology upgrades, realignment and improvement of the other school sites, and $3.4 million for transportation.
13) What are the long term growth plans if capacity is reached?
Long term growth plans would be to expand the classrooms to accommodate growth until we reach a growth number that would allow us to transition to a second high school.
14) The current school board president has recently developed a residential addition and owns a significant amount of land (zoned commercial) immediately south of the proposed high school site. Given his primary occupation of general construction, wouldn’t this be considered a genuine conflict of interest? Are the best interests of Yukon’s students being examined or is this about a select group of small town businesses’ attempt to make a profit?
This property was owned and zoned commercial well before the school purchased this land. This is the last tract of land large enough in the Yukon district to accommodate future development and also is adjacent to the current school property. It is an unfair characterization to assume that this purchase of land was done to make a profit for any business purposes. The land adjacent to our school property is zoned for residential and commercial office complexes.
According to the Canadian County Election Board, “Wording for Yukon Public Schools District Election for March 4, 2008” Proposition 1 and Proposition 2 “levy and collect an annual tax, in addition to all other taxes, upon all the taxable property in such District sufficient to pay the interest on such bonds” leads to two questions.
15) Why are the citizens being told taxes will not be raised when the bond language clearly states that taxes will be levied on all taxable property in the district?
The language is the same that has been used in all previous bond issues.
Bonds will be retired as new bonds are brought in, keeping the millage rate at the same level. No increase in taxes will be levied. The millage rate is currently 26.65. The other taxing entities for ad-valorem taxes are city, county and career tech schools. See questions #3 above.
16) Please help us understand how taxes are not going to be raised on our properties as the same was advertised about the bond to build new police and fire stations when it actually raised our taxes approximately $6 per thousand?
We cannot speak to other entities tax issues. We can only explain school bond issues and stand on our past record.
17) Again, the current railroad crossing(s) along Ranchwood Boulevard crossing both Mustang Road and Vandament are extremely dangerous causing multiple injuries and even the death of a Yukon High School student. Given that the student driver volume, school bus traffic, and citizen traffic would be significantly increased in these areas, what investment is being planned to make these crossings safer for the students and citizens of Yukon?
This question was answered in #7 above. The safety and security of not only our students but of Yukon citizens is of the utmost importance to Yukon schools.
18) There has been zero mentioned of how the school board plans to financially manage a project of this magnitude. Like industries would employ 2-4 program managers and or financial controllers to ensure the proper distribution and oversight is provided for the project. Will a third party be managing the funds or will this be entrusted to the school board members?
We have established our credibility through years of successful bond management; with the legally required oversight of the Yukon School Board, this administration will maintain those high standards of credibility. The amount of this bond may seem large, but in reality, this is no different than multiple bond issues over a period of years. Our vision encompasses a ten year plan that allows us to think further down the road instead of only looking ahead in three year increments. It also allows us to look at first class options rather than having to continue the "band aid" approach.
19)I understand the need for a new high school but, what about the other schools’ needs: Principal's budgets, classroom budgets, etc. The schools do not have enough money to purchase the supplies needed. I know that the PSO's are asked for a lot. What will be done about getting equipment and supplies for our kids?
We will continue to strive to provide sufficient revenue for all our instructional needs in the district. The Bond Issues have provided additional resources that are not available to schools through distribution of educational funding from our state and local revenue sources. The most unfortunate occurrences in recent years have been the lack of any operational dollars provided to our schools. This has forced us to use funds to pay our operational costs (such as utilities, insurance, etc.) that we would rather have available to meet our instructional needs. This is why a good deal of my efforts are spent attempting to lobby legislators for additional funds for our school.
If you have additional questions, please e-mail Superintendent Bill Denton at bill.denton@yukonps.com.
Administrative Information
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