An important open seat on the Tulsa School Board, a $110-million-plus bond issue for Bixby Schools and several other ballot items will be voted on February 8 in Tulsa County.
There are races for Tulsa Public School Board, District 7; special propositions for Bixby and Jenks public schools; a municipal primary election for the City of San Springs City Council Wards 1 and 2; a special PSO utility Franchise election for the City of Tulsa; and a City of Bixby Special Promotion Election for a civic auditorium.
If only two candidates filed for an office, the race goes straight to the April 5 general ballot. If more than two filed, they wind up in the February 8 primary.
Early walk-in voting is February 3-4.
Tulsa Public Schools Office 7
Tulsa School Board Vice President Suzanne Schreiber, who represents District 7, chose not to run again. The schools in that district include Carnegie, Eisenhower International, Grissom, Key, Marshall, McClure, and Patrick Henry elementary schools; Thoreau Demonstration Academy; and Memorial High School.
The candidates are:
(Editor’s note: After searching, some candidates had scant information about their backgrounds).
Ellen Fuller
Susan Bryant Lamkin
Susan is a 3rd generation Tulsa Public Schools alumnus with 4 children that have been or currently enrolled in Tulsa Public Schools. She has been part of her kids’ education experiences at multiple Tulsa Public School campuses.
Tim Harris
Former Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris started in the Tulsa DA’s office right out of law school, eventually working his way up to First Assistant. He served on the first specialized prosecution team fighting child abuse and eventually became the first Director of the Crimes Against Children Division.
Harris was elected DA in 1998, and was the longest serving District Attorney in Tulsa County history. After 16 years of advocating for our communities, he decided to pursue projects such as teaching law, protecting vulnerable people from exploitation, and helping at-risk youth become productive citizens, not just crime statistics.
For decades, Harris has been on the front lines protecting people, primarily the most vulnerable in our society – children and the elderly.
As a member of the Tulsa Public School Board, Harris pledges to continue advocating for Tulsa’s children, students, and teachers by demanding real change at every level, including education rooted in facts, safety in our classrooms, fighting for teacher pay, and fighting back against the false indoctrination of Critical Race Theory.
While in law school at Oral Roberts University, Harris met Tiari, a medical student. They’ve been married 37 years and have been blessed by God with two wonderful children, and one grandchild.
Junegrid Baker
Junegrid Baker is a former Spanish Teacher at Howenstine High School and is now a Spanish teacher for Tulsa Public Schools.
She is a former Adjunct Faculty Spanish instructor at Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona. She formerly taught Spanish at Amphi. High School, Belmont Junior Secondary School, at Toco Composite School, at Siparia Junior Secondary School, at Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive School, at Princes Town Senior Comprehensive School, at Yuma Catholic High School and was a former Spanish/French teacher at Malick Senior Comprehensive School.
She studied education at the School of Education, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine and studied foreign languages and literatures at University of the West Indies, St Augustine. She attended St. Augustine Girls’ High School, in Trinidad, West Indies and has studied at ORU in Tulsa.
Two Propositions for Bixby Schools – $110,000,000
Proposition 1
This would pay for new equipment, uniforms, heat-and-air conditioning equipment, instructional technology, a roof, building repairs, fixtures, and furniture.
It would pay to equip and furnish a new high school academic building plus construct and equip a West Elementary/Intermediate expansion with more classrooms, restrooms, etc. A new gym for Bixby East Intermediate with furnishings is included.
Improvements are planned at North Elementary School and Central Elementary School.
The bonds would be paid by increased property tax.
Proposition 2
This would be used to buy transportation equipment.
Broken Arrow Public Schools Office 2
Incumbent Steve Majors decided not to run again.
Debbie Taylor
All four of Taylor’s sons graduated from Broken Arrow High School and nine of her grandchildren attend Broken Arrow schools. She has been involved in community service in Broken Arrow for over 30 years. She has been endorsed by Linda Murphy, former Oklahoma Secretary of Education under former Gov. Frank Keating.
She has been a local business owner for more than 27 years.
J.W. Berry
George Ghesquire
Ghesquire has been an active member at Guts Church for 23 years. He has been married to Tiffany for 22 years and they have 4 children, ranging in age from 4 to 23.
He has been a camp counselor and currently is a Troopmaster for a Trail Life troop), with several years leading a service in GutsKids.
Ghesquire has worked as a commercial drywaller for over 20 years with the same company.
Robyn Havener
Havener studied marketing at Oklahoma State University. She works at Edward Jones and originally is from Goessel, Kansas.
Joshua Moon has withdrawn from the race.
Union Public Schools Office 2
Shelley Gwartney
Gwartney is the treasurer for the Peters PTA. She is also on the Union PTA Council and is chairman of several committees. She was a field manager for the 2020 Census and managed 40 enumerators for the Tulsa area. She helped create and manage the Moms Ministry at BattleCreek Church. She coached varsity cheerleading at a private collegiate high school in Tulsa for two years. She served on the Clean Slate project through BattleCreek Church, including work on TPS’s Wright Elementary.
She works at Kock & Company/DJ Exports in Broken Arrow as creative director and business consultant.
Chris McNeil
Chris McNeil is the incumbent in Office 2. He helped coach the Union Varsity wrestling program from 2013-2016. He volunteers throughout the district to promote health literacy, spotlighting science, health and medicine.
He volunteers at Iron Gate, Brightspot Mobile, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and mentors aspiring physicians through Black Men in White Coats.
McNeil graduated from OSU with a doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine. He and his family are members of LifeChurch Broken Arrow.
Derek M. Rader
Sand Springs City Council Wards 1 and 2
Ward 1
- Michael L. Phillips
- Michael R. Titus
- Cody Worrell
Ward 2
- Matthew Barnett
Barnett is associate pastor at HillSpring Church. He previously worked at Second Chance Consignment. He studied at Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary. He also studied at Oklahoma Baptist University and is married to Cassie Barnett.
- Patty Dixon is the Vice Mayor of Sand Springs. She is retired from the Tulsa County Parks Department. She studied at Oklahoma State University.
- PSO Utility Franchise with the City of Tulsa
If approved, this would grant an electric franchise to Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), so that PSO may use and occupy the streets, public ways and public places of the City for installing, operating and maintaining poles, wires and other equipment, for the purpose of furnishing electricity to the public. PSO will charge its consumers a reasonable, regulated fee for the electricity furnished. PSO must abide by the terms and conditions set forth in the Franchise Ordinance. PSO will pay fees to the City of Tulsa for the use of the public ways, as calculated in the Ordinance. This franchise will last for 15 years.
Two Propositions for Jenks Schools – $14,025,000
This will include district-wide equipment/repairs; printing improvements; safety improvements; technology; textbooks and media equipment; transportation; improvements to softball facilities; Phase I artificial turf replacement at Allan Trimble Stadium; Phase I video board replacement at Allan Trimble Stadium; Phase III expansion and renovation at Freshman Academy and updating master plan for Jenks Middle School.
All projects but student transportation are in Proposition 1 ($13,230,000). Transportation is in Proposition 2 ($795,000).
The bonds will be paid by an increase in property taxes.
City of Bixby Special Proposition
Bixby voters will consider a bond issue for funding construction of a venue in Downtown Bixby that is part of joint initiative between Bixby Public Schools and the City of Bixby for the Performing Arts.
The $43,000,000 state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center will seat up to 1,500. Bixby Public Schools and the City of Bixby will coordinate facility design and scheduling.
It will be fully available to B.P.S Fine Arts Programs but will book outside acts and performances.
The average tax impact over the bond term is $43.56 annually per $100,000 of property value.