Tulsa Schools Eye School Tech Bonds

Tulsa County Independent School District No. 1 may ask voters for a general obligation bond authorization that would focus on education technology.

The district is lagging behind its neighbors in providing adequate technology, Superintendent Keith Ballard said last week in a presentation to the Rotary Club of Tulsa.

“One of our areas of focus is going to be technology,” Ballard said. “Not as a cure-all, not as a panacea, but how can it be a tool for greater student achievement.”

A bond proposal would be based on the technological needs of principals, teachers, and students, he said, and put together by citizens committee.

“I’m not afraid to take something like that on if that could help our teachers,” Ballard said. “We have to be accountable if we decide to pursue something like that, and we will be.”

Voters in the district approved a $354 million GO proposal in March 2010. Most of the proceeds are earmarked for building renovations and repairs.

The district has about $172 million of authorized but unissued debt remaining from the 2010 bond package. Officials plan to issue up to $25 million in 2013 and $78.5 million in 2014.

The district is Oklahoma’s largest, with more than 40,000 students. Its $215 million of outstanding GO debt is rated Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA by Standard & Poor’s.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Oklahoma
MORE FROM BOND BUYER