April 2020 Bond Projects Update
Post date: Apr 12, 2020 10:43:42 PM
Funding from the 2016 bond issue made it possible for the district to shift to online learning for middle school and high school students for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year. Various construction and technology projects continue, thanks to funding from the 2019 bond issue.
Hotspots for new Connected Bruins program
In mid-March, the school board approved the purchase of 275 cellular hotspots for a new Connected Bruins program. They support the transition to telecommuting and distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing limited internet data to homes for which other low-cost internet options are not feasible.
In late March and early April, a few dozen were issued to staff, and on Good Friday the first wave of over 100 hotspots was made available to middle school and high school students who could use them for online learning. Additional hotspots will continue to be issued by advance arrangement through students' teachers and principals.
The district is also exploring community funding to support the future purchase of additional hotspots to allow the online learning model to be extended into the upper elementary grades during the 2020-2021 academic year if that should prove necessary and desirable.
Chromebooks
The shift to online learning for grades 6-12 was made possible by the years-long investment in devices, support, and training for 1:1 Chromebooks and related services, mostly funded by the 2016 bond issue. Before the pandemic, the district had already ordered enough carts and Chromebooks to provide them for all fifth-grade students in August 2020. Those will arrive and be outfitted in the coming months. The district will consider using federal stimulus funding to purchase additional carts and devices for more elementary grade levels. That, combined with cellular hotspots, would support a transition to online learning in the upper elementary grades during part of the 2020-2021 academic year should that prove necessary.
Custer Stadium Pressbox
Construction continues on the new pressbox at Custer Stadium, funded by the 2019 bond issue. There is now exterior and interior framing, concrete has been poured, and exterior sheathing going up.
The masonry for the elevator shaft in the alleyway is complete. Eventually, the blue chairbacks at Custer Stadium will be replaced.
Agriculture Building
The agriculture building at the south end of the high school campus is also making good progress, with exterior and interior framing. Soon it will be roofed and have more of its exterior completed.
Safety Projects
The crosswalk at Bartlesville High School was installed and operating for student use before the pandemic shut down the schools and will help students safely cross Hillcrest Drive in the years to come. The district purchased the crosswalk equipment with 2019 bond funding, and the City of Bartlesville installed the units.
A bid will soon be awarded to replace the district's security cameras and related servers while greatly expanding the number of cameras and thus enhancing coverage across the district's campuses. In the coming weeks, all exterior door locks and some exterior doors will be updated.
Elementary Instruction Touchscreens
The 2019 bond issue funded upgrading all elementary classrooms from electronic whiteboards with projectors to large, bright touchscreens. The touchscreens for Ranch Heights, Wayside, and Wilson elementary schools have arrived and will be installed in the coming months. Similar updates will be made at the other three elementary schools in the summer of 2021.
Baseball & Softball Infields Turfed
The infields of Rigdon Field at Doenges Memorial Stadium downtown and the Lady Bruins softball field near Madison Middle School now sport artificial turf. When conditions allow, we look forward to dedicating Rigdon Field.
Central Tuck and Seal
Central Middle School's masonry is about a century old and requires regular tuck and seal treatments against moisture penetration. The latest round of that ongoing maintenance is nearing completion.
Future Work
The coming months will bring continued progress on the pressbox and agriculture building, the camera upgrades, and elementary classroom touchscreens. Additional climate control systems will be updated at both Wilson Elementary and Madison Middle School, along with a new cafeteria serving line for the Commons at the latter. An electric lift is being designed for the orchestra pit at the Bartlesville High School Fine Arts Center. Eventually a loop drive will be installed at Central Middle School to improve student dropoffs and pickups, and there will be parking improvements at Ranch Heights elementary school. Bathroom improvements are slated for both Wilson and Hoover elementary schools.
Looking further down the timeline, in future years we will finish updating elementary classroom touchscreens, update the auditorium curtains and rigging at each secondary school, and replace original elevators at the high school and at Madison. The bond issues will also continue to fund annual technology, textbook, STEM, athletics, fine arts, furniture, maintenance, and other ongoing needs across the district.