2013 Bond Issue: Central

Central Today

The bond issue will provide for Central Middle School improvements, including renovations on all four floors of the building, revamping the north building into an expanded cafeteria/commons, adding a new gymnasium, and creating a secure entry through the office. The projected cost is $12.2 million, plus shared funding for furniture and technology upgrades where required.

Central Addition and Renovations

A historic structure like Central needs updating to be an efficient and functional learning environment for the 21st century. A 1993 bond issue funded much-needed improvements which were completed in 1996, but did not address the undersized cafeteria, fine arts rooms, and gymnasium issues. Some finishes and systems also need updating after almost 20 additional years of use since the last major bond issue for Central. Below are existing problems with the building and how they will be solved by the bond issue.

The bond work concentrates on the areas in daily use, and does NOT do any renovations in the auditorium.

Click images to enlarge

Existing Problems

Proposed Solutions

  • Undersized cafeteria in north building means 5 lunch periods per day with some conducted midway through core academic classes, meaning students are interrupted during learning; no commons area for students to gather before school, etc.

  • Enlarge the cafeteria into a combination cafeteria/commons occupying the entire north building

Tiny Central Cafeteria
Central Cafeteria

  • Deteriorating finishes in corridors and classrooms, such as decaying plaster walls and damaged floors; aging climate control systems; few electronic white boards

  • Seal the exterior with a new roof and a fresh point-and-tuck of the masonry; refresh finishes by repairing and repainting plaster walls, stripping corridor floors for fresh tile and refinishing wood floors in classrooms, and replacing classroom ceilings; replace motors and valves as needed in classroom HVAC systems and a new chiller for the site; install electronic white board in each classroom

Central's Wall Plaster Decay
Central Wood Classroom Floor, 2013
Electronic Whiteboard

  • Choir, band, and orchestra rooms are too small for the current student enrollments in those courses

  • Enlarge fine arts spaces by renovating existing gym spaces on ground floor into larger fine arts rooms

Cramped Central Choir
Ground Floor Renovations

  • Cramped and deteriorating gyms with awkward access

  • New gymnasium attached to the south side of the building (additional parking north of the cafeteria building to replace existing spaces lost to new gym)

Central's Small Gym, 2013
New Gym at Central

  • Office reception area is located far from entrance, so visitor access to building is less secure

  • Office relocated for a new secure entrance at ground level on Delaware Street

Central's Current Office
Central Ground Floor Renovations

Central is a historically significant building situated just southeast of downtown. It was the first junior high in Oklahoma, with the west portion built in 1917 and the larger east portion built in 1925. The north building was added in 1956.

(click photos to enlarge)

1924 Bond Campaign Drawing

After 1993 Bond Renovations

Twenty years ago Bartlesville voters invested $4.5 million in a renovation which re-sealed the building's exterior, installed new climate control systems, refinished the floors, repaired and repainted walls, replaced doors, and re-bricked the north building to match the main buildings. Two decades later, it is time to refresh those upgrades as needed and address problems with the cafeteria, fine arts rooms, gyms, and secure access.

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