Special school bond election set for March 18 in Ocean Springs

Ocean Springs voters will head to the polls in mid-March after the Ocean Springs School District Board of Trustees approved a bond resolution Tuesday night.

The special election date for the bond issue is Tuesday, March 18.

According to the school district, the recommendation of the no-tax-increase bond comes after more than a year of planning and research conducted by OSSD administration and the Strategic Planning Committee, and aims to address the infrastructure and expansion of several schools, primarily the current Ocean Springs Upper Elementary campus.

A statement by the district also states that the proposed $52 million dollar bond would maintain the current tax rate of $80.31 per $100,000 of assessed property value, meaning homeowners would not face an increase in their property tax rate. The solution allows the district to address immediate infrastructure needs without an additional tax burden from the community and coincides with the district’s 5-year strategic plan, called INSPIRE 2029.

If the bond approval is passed, there are plans to move forward with the projects listed below.

• Constructing a state-of-the-art middle school on the current site of Ocean Springs Upper Elementary.

• Making critical infrastructure upgrades to all three elementary schools in the district, as well as the current middle school campus.

• Renovating the current middle school campus to convert it into a 5th and 6th grade school.

• Adding additional classrooms to the elementary schools as needed to allow for transition to a K-4th grade concept, from the current K-3 concept.