John Rex announces downtown high school purchase agreement, plans to open freshman class in 2027

Superintendent Patrick Duffy told the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board that John Rex — a downtown Oklahoma City charter authorized by Oklahoma City Public Schools — has signed a purchase agreement this morning for a three‑story, roughly 31,000‑square‑foot building at 615 North Hudson that the school plans to convert into its high‑school campus.

Duffy said John Rex will take ownership after a major tenant’s lease ends in May 2026 and that, pending the authorizer’s approval, the school plans to open a freshman class in fall 2027. “This is the facility that, as of this morning, I signed a purchase agreement for for a high school,” Duffy said. He added the school has not yet requested money from the board or other entities to complete the purchase.

The buy is part of a multi‑year expansion John Rex leaders described to the board. The school currently serves pre‑K through eighth grade and will add an intermediate school, a separate junior high facility and then a high school in stages. Duffy said the intermediate school will be housed in the McAlpine Center downtown with 14 classrooms for grades five and six and that the junior high will operate in the historic Carnegie Library building. He said the high school purchase is intended to give the school space for a comprehensive pre‑K‑12 pathway focused on STEAM and career pathways that connect students to Downtown Oklahoma City employment opportunities.

John Rex leaders described steady enrollment growth and demand. Duffy said the school serves about 908 students now and expected to have roughly 930 seats filled after building additional capacity; the school’s retention rate is about 87 percent and it had roughly 600–700 applications this year, he said. He told the board John Rex serves a diverse student body and provided the following snapshot for fiscal year 2024 and current enrollment: roughly 51 percent economically disadvantaged, about 12 percent English learners and roughly 13 percent of students receiving special‑education services. Duffy said the school’s per‑pupil revenue in FY 2024 was about $8,500, below the statewide average cited in the presentation (about $13,000 as of 2022).

Duffy said John Rex has received outside support for expansion planning: the school learned this week it was accepted to the Charter School Growth Fund and earlier received a CSP (charter school program) grant through OPSRC to support expansion work. He told the board the school is coordinating with the Oklahoma City Chamber and Metro Tech to design career pathways in areas such as health sciences, aviation, cybersecurity, coding and energy/engineering so high‑school graduates can enter downtown job opportunities or continue into postsecondary training.

Board members asked about feeder patterns and where graduates were attending high school; Duffy said many John Rex students were attending Classen and the city’s larger traditional high schools, and that the new high‑school pathway is meant to retain students through graduation and into city jobs.

The presentation included a brief description of John Rex’s facilities history: the elementary campus was built with MAPS for Kids funds and private donations and the middle‑school space was refurbished with philanthropic support from the Inasmuch Foundation. The board applauded the purchase agreement and Duffy offered to answer follow‑up questions as staff and the governing board prepare the charter‑expansion and authorizer approval materials.

Looking ahead, Duffy asked the board to note that site acquisition is one step in a multiyear plan. He said the school will seek authorizer approval, complete renovations, secure operating funds and phase students into the new high‑school program beginning with a freshman class in fall 2027.