Richard Kane
Built in 1983; Opened in 1985
New front entry in April 2023
Richard Kane Elementary School was built on Shawnee Field in 1983 southwest of the transportation and maintenance center.
Shawnee Field Area
The school opened in 1985, absorbing students from the old McKinley, Jefferson, and Southview schools.
Bartlesville's disastrous 1986 flood resulted in $40,318 damage at the new school. Six inches of water damaged carpets and the gymnasium floor, but most books, equipment, and supplies were moved and saved.
One classroom was added to Kane in a 1993 bond issue.
On April 30, 2007, a six-inch water pipe burst; it was located beneath the building and fed the sprinkler system. Classes were relocated to area churches from May 1-11 as the building was cleaned up. Over the next few months new carpet was put in throughout the building while cabinets, sinks and fixtures were installed as well. Old wallpaper was removed before the walls were newly textured and then given a fresh coat of paint.
In 2012 Kane was the only elementary school still using portables, which were finally eliminated when a bond issue funded the construction of an early childhood education pod similar to those funded at Ranch Heights, Wayside, and Wilson by a 2007 bond issue.
A 2021 bond issue allocated $1.8 million for a new entrance lobby and offices.
Main entry in 2017 before 2023 addition
Early childhood center entry in 2017
2023 Lobby
Richard Kane, after whom Kane Elementary is named, was born and raised in Bartlesville and served as the attorney for the board of education from 1947 into the 1990s. Each spring, Kane led the school's annual pet parade, and students celebrated his birthday with him each October. He passed away in 2009.
District History Pages
Richard Kane