District is growing, as are educational opportunities

(Published Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007 in Examiner-Enterprise)

There's no doubt about it: Our Bruin family is growing.

With the influx of new jobs in the area in recent years – courtesy of companies such as ConocoPhillips, ABB Automation, Inc. and Sitel – Green Country is expanding and, consequently, so is the Bartlesville Public School District.

We couldn't be happier.

As we like to say within the district, it's a great time to be a Bruin. And since that is the case, we certainly welcome the new additions.

Since the end of the 2006-07 academic year, the Bartlesville Public School District has seen its total enrollment leap by approximately 140 students. Currently, in the midst of the 2007-08 academic year, we boast about 6,040 students. In each of the previous three years, district enrollment stood at approximately 5,900.

While growth within a school district can certainly present some challenges, thanks to the voters within the BPSD, we're in a superb position to handle it. Under the conditions of the $29.95 million school bond issue, which passed in May, the three elementary schools in the community's largest growth areas – Ranch Heights, Wayside and Woodrow Wilson – are all scheduled for expansions and renovations of their respective buildings. Ranch Heights is due to add eight classrooms while getting a revamped pick-up/drop-off area as well. Traffic problems before and after school which can lead to congestion on David Lane should be significantly relieved when the front of the school is reconfigured to fall upon Woodland Ave., a through street with better traffic flow.

Wayside and Wilson will add six classrooms apiece since they – like Ranch Heights – are being fed by new housing editions. The Bartlesville Mid-High School – home to ninth and 10 th graders – is due to add seven classrooms.

To support a population influx, you need solid infrastructure. We have good infrastructure, and it's only getting better. The 2006-07 academic year was the first for the Will Rogers Early Childhood Center . The school offers five full-day kindergarten sections as well as eight full-day pre-kindergarten sections. The advent of the early childhood center – which boasts a student population of approximately 275 – allowed Ranch Heights , Wayside and Wilson to all move some of their kindergarten and pre-kindergarten classes to Will Rogers, thus allowing for even more class space. The additional classrooms have certainly been utilized as seven elementary school teachers have come aboard this year to accommodate the increased student enrollment while maintaining smaller class sizes.

In all, the fact that we've taken the necessary steps to properly position ourselves for growth speaks to the vision of the Bartlesville Board of Education members as well as the patrons of our school district.

While we love the idea of adding to our Bruin family and expanding our theme of “excellence in education,” there are other reasons to welcome growth within our school district. For every student who attends school within the BPSD for an entire academic year, the district receives approximately $3,150 in educational aid from the state of Oklahoma . If the student attends classes for just part of the year – perhaps he or she moves into the area in the middle of a semester – then the amount is prorated.

The state aid money is put into a general fund that is then used for everything from classroom supplies to utilities to teacher salaries. In all, nearly half of our district's annual budget is comprised of state aid money.

Money collected through area property taxes goes toward education as well. Thus, as new housing editions spring up around elementary schools such as Ranch Heights, Wayside and Woodrow Wilson, the money eventually collected from them via the property tax system will be put toward the Bartlesville Public School District 's building fund while also increasing our bond capacity.

Thanks to the $30.5 million bond issue which passed in 2001 as well as the $29.95 million issue which was given the nod by voters earlier this year, we have been able to add fantastic new facilities on the Bartlesville High School campus such as the Fine Arts Center, the Science Wing and the BHS Fieldhouse. Still to come for BHS are the new Library/Media Center, the Connecting Link and a state-of-the-art heating and cooling system. General repairs, upgrades and renovations are due throughout the district.