The Oklahoma State School Boards Association celebrates “School Board Recognition Month” in January. The patrons, families and students of Bartlesville Public Schools are extremely fortunate to be served by the seven highly-talented individuals who serve on our local Board of Education. Our school board members come from diverse backgrounds, each bringing experiences and expertise to the school board. Their professionalism as a working board of education creates an atmosphere of teamwork as they work toward the common goal of providing the best education possible for our students.
Serving on the Board of Education requires an enormous commitment. Members of the Bartlesville Board of Education have invested a cumulative of 1,063 hours the past eleven months in meetings alone. In addition to formal meetings, they spend time researching school policies in preparation for meetings and attending a wide assortment of events in the school district.
The board of education also has tremendous responsibility to the Bartlesville community. This group oversees the school's $32.7 million annual budget. Board members are accountable for their fiscal decisions, and often facing public scrutiny. These dedicated board members do all of this on a voluntary basis, because they care about children and because they care about the community.
Ultimately, it is the Bartlesville students who receive the benefit of their commitment. It is through the dedication and vision of past and present BPS Boards of Education along with community members that the 10-year, $30.5 million dollar bond projects were developed, a bond resolution approved, voted on and approved by the public. Now, as we enter the third phase of the enormous project, BPS students are utilizing these new facilities and benefiting from this vision and hard work.
Members of the Board of Education serve on various committees throughout the district which shape curriculum, budgets, design facilities and negotiate with teachers and support staff. On the Bond Design Steering Committee, board members have assisted in designing the new field house, media center, and connecting link. The Board Facilities Committee manages the ongoing projects during construction and ensures a quality product for the school district and that the bond money is well utilized. Board members also serve on the Reading Task Force, this committee is evaluating reading curriculum to determine the most effective program for Bartlesville students. These are just a few of the committees which board members oversee and contribute to.
Serving on the Board of Education is certainly not an easy task. The last few years brought difficult financial challenges when the state of Oklahoma severely cut funding to public schools. Our board members made difficult decisions, while still maintaining the highest quality of education possible. In preparation for next year's budget, several members currently serve on the Superintendent's Budget Development Committee where they will assist in recommending the budget for the 2005-06 school year to the full Board. Our board members also serve at the state level with the Oklahoma State School Board Association. They travel to Oklahoma City to attend training sessions and meet with our local legislators regularly to discuss school legal issues.
The current members of the Board of Education are:
Barry W. Lowe, Board President
Marta Manning, Vice President
Charlie Daniels, Clerk
Emory Pitzer
Harvey Little
Frank Carlburg
Kirk Darnell
On behalf of Bartlesville Public Schools I want to thank these hard working members of our community for their years of service to education and to our children. The Board members invest a tremendous amount of time and expertise to the benefit of the children of Bartlesville . Their work is extremely important to the success of our school district. Please take time to thank these dedicated servant-leaders of our community. They provide a tremendous service for our community. They are to be commended for volunteering to serve our community in this way. Working together, we continue “Striving for Excellence!”