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2027 School Construction Bond

A graphic logo for '2027 BOND' with a yellow hard hat on the letter D and the text 'BUILDING #ONE OAK HARBOR' below.

2027 School Construction Bond

On February 9, 2027, Oak Harbor voters will consider a $110 Million School Construction Bond measure that would address two of the District’s most aging and deteriorated facilities: Oak Harbor Elementary School’s South Building and the District’s Transportation Center.

The bond measure follows three years of facilities planning and community input, including community surveys, facility assessments and the work of the District’s Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC). The feedback and community voices gathered through that process helped inform the projects included in the proposed bond measure.

“We have spent the past several years looking closely at our facilities, examining the condition of our buildings and listening to our community about what is important to Oak Harbor,” said Superintendent Dr. Michelle Kuss-Cybula. “This process has helped us identify the facility needs that require the most attention and develop a proposal that reflects both the data we have collected and the input we have received from our community.”

Proposed Projects

Oak Harbor Elementary School - Rebuild & Repurpose

A single-story brick school building with a driveway and green lawns in front.

The bond would fund rebuilding of the 1948 Oak Harbor Elementary School South building with a new elementary school at Fort Nugent Park. The project would also preserve and repurpose the historic 1934 Oak Harbor Elementary building and field space for future community or District use. This plan is outlined in our #ThisisOneOakHarbor initiative in partnership with the City of Oak Harbor’s Parks & Recreation Department. 

The new school would provide a modern, accessible neighborhood school with additional capacity to reduce reliance on portable classrooms and support future enrollment and facility planning. The project would address health, safety, security, seismic, energy efficiency and instructional space needs, including updated spaces for student services and food preparation.

Transportation - Replace & Improve

Children step off a yellow school bus as a man in a dark uniform greets them outdoors.

The second major project included in the bond measure would address the District’s Transportation Center, constructed in 1964. The facility supports transportation services for more than 3,500 students each day.

The proposed project would replace or improve the existing transportation facility and address safety, accessibility, functionality and deteriorating building systems. The transportation shop currently lacks an operable vehicle lift system and has other facility limitations that affect the maintenance and repair of District vehicles.

In addition to daily student transportation, the District’s transportation fleet supports athletic transportation and other services, including transportation-related support for students experiencing homelessness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Based on community input, we have put together a Frequently Asked Questions related to the upcoming School Bond Measure. Have a question that you don’t see listed? Please share your question with us and we will add it to our list or follow up with you directly with more information. Thank you! 

Submit Your Questions!

  • The proposed bond measure would cost taxpayers approximately $0.97 per $1,000 assessed property value the first year and approximately $.95 the following four years, if approved by voters. This tax rate would be less than the now expired bond measure rate that built the OHHS stadium and renovation bond measures. 

    A bar chart displaying financial data with blue, green, and black segments, including a blue arrow pointing to the right.

  • While enrollment has declined in recent years, Oak Harbor Public Schools continues to rely on approximately 48 portable classrooms because our existing permanent facilities do not provide enough capacity for our current student population.

    Rebuilding Oak Harbor Elementary School with additional permanent capacity would help reduce reliance on portable classrooms and provide greater flexibility for future enrollment and facility planning. Portable classrooms are intended to be temporary solutions to address capacity needs, but some have been in use for many years and require ongoing maintenance.

    Reducing the district’s reliance on portable classrooms would also improve access to facilities and create more consistent, secure learning environments for students and staff. The district’s goal is to continue reducing the number of portable classrooms across Oak Harbor Public Schools as permanent capacity becomes available.

  • If approved by voters, the rebuilt Oak Harbor Elementary School will only be on a portion of the property and would not take up all of the existing field space. The opportunity would allow the school district to renovate several of the fields to be better for community use. In addition, to improving the fields at Fort Nugent Park, the bond measure would allow the school district to implement the #ThisisOneOakHarbor initiative with the City of Oak Harbor to provide additional field space at the center of town at the old Oak Harbor Elementary School site. The goal would be expand and improve existing field spaces in the community and not eliminate fields. 

     

  • If the school bond does not pass, the school district will need to evaluate next steps for Oak Harbor Elementary School and the Transportation Center. The two buildings conditions are well beyond their lifespan and will need to be addressed immediately. The school district would need to solicit community input on what next steps look like for the two buildings.

  • While the option of rebuilding Oak Harbor Elementary School on the current site was an option considered by District leadership and the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC), it was ultimately determined not to be a feasible option for several reasons including:

    • Preserving the historic building would mean that we would need to rebuild separate buildings onto the site. One of the concerns with the current layout of Oak Harbor Elementary is the ability to safety secure multiple buildings on the site, instead of one school under one roof. 
    • It is easier on students to rebuild on a new site instead of an existing school site to avoid disruption to learning. We would need to move students to another school building that is potentially already impacted capacity wise. The other portions of the property are not large enough to build a new school. 
    • Right now several of our schools are located near each other, including Oak Harbor Elementary School and Olympic View Elementary School. By moving Oak Harbor Elementary School to a new location in a growing area of town, it eases transportation issues and helps to spread our attendance boundaries out to better distribute students across our school district.

  • The historic building will remain in tact and could be repurposed for community or district-use.

  • Oftentimes, remodeling is more costly to taxpayers than rebuilding a school. Due to the condition and age of these two buildings, it would not be cost effective because of the amount of abatement needed to safety remodel the school building.