Recent Progress Reports
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2019 BOND ISSUE SUMMARY Voters approved $17,915,000 for projects that include:
2016 BOND ISSUE SUMMARY
Voters approved $19.4 million over a five year period for multiple purposes: Saving Jobs & Preserving Class Sizes
The primary focus of the bond issue was to compensate for huge cuts in state funding since 2009. The district suffered multiple state revenue shortfalls in 2016 and cut 5% of its teachers as well as additional administrators and support staff. The bonds allow the district to shift more operational costs from its general fund to bond issue funds to prevent additional staffing cuts and increases in class sizes. Improving Instructional Technology, Equipment, and Facilities
The bond will continue to provide students with instructional technology, physical and digital textbooks, STEM programs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, and maintain buildings and update classrooms and their furnishings. Targeted High-Priority Renovations
The bond provided improvements in existing facilities previously identified as top priorities by community members on the district's Long Range Facilities Planning Committee, but which bond capacity limits prevented us from addressing in the 2013 reconfiguration bond issue.
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Bond Progress Reports
Late May 2020 Bond Projects Update
Projects and programs funded by the 2019 bond issue continue to progress despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Some students will have virtual learning experiences this summer made possible by technology purchased via bond funding, and many will be able to take advantage of new and improved facilities in the coming school year.
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTSPressbox The pressbox is ahead of schedule; click image to enlarge
The new pressbox atop Custer Stadium is ahead of schedule and will be ready before classes start in August. It features vastly improved facilities for community media, home and visitor coaches, visiting media, and student media, along with a small hospitality room. All of the rooms and a video balcony provide sweeping views of Lyon Field in a much more comfortable environment than the 65-year-old metal shed that sat atop the stadium since its construction.
 Two of the media rooms in the new pressbox, with the video balcony on the far left; click image to enlarge
 Agriculture Building The new agriculture building is being constructed on the south end of the Bartlesville High School (BHS) campus across 18th Street and just west of the Bruin Activity Center indoor practice facility.
The northern end of the building will be an agricultural mechanics lab with welding capability, a tool room, and garage door.
 Future agriculture mechanics lab
The southern end of the building will have two classrooms able to accommodate both Marty Jones, who started the district's agriculture education program in 2019-2020, and new hire Cameron Dale, who will be teaching 8th-grade agriculture orientation classes at Central and Madison middle schools and Agriscience 1 at BHS.
 Future classroom space in the new agriculture building
Other Summer Construction Projects There will also be parking improvements at Ranch Heights Elementary School.
Madison Middle School will have additional work to finish replacing the last remnants of the original HVAC systems, which date back to when the facility was built as Sooner High School in 1966. A new serving line will be installed in what is now the Commons, located in the former Sooner High shop area, to support meal service relocated from the original cafeteria, where the old steam tables had reached their end of life.
Work will proceed on installing a motorized lift for the orchestra pit at the Fine Arts Center at Bartlesville High School. Since its opening in 2003, when not in use the pit has had to be manually converted into a stage extension by a system of scaffolding and flooring. The motorized lift will eliminate many man-hours of work for conversions each year, increasing the functionality of the superb facility.
| TECHNOLOGYVirtual Summer SchoolsThe district has four summer school programs in June, with two continuing on into July. All four are able to be virtual programs thanks to Chromebooks and hotspots funded by the 2016 and 2019 bond issues.
 About 100 elementary school students were selected for and enrolled in the Summer Boost program, which will run from June 1-June 25. Their parents can check out a new Chromebook and, if needed, a cellular hotspot for internet service. The initial wave of devices were distributed at a drive-through at BHS on May 28, and the Chromebooks will be returned on June 26.
Over 140 students have enrolled in a Virtual Summer Academy at Jane Phillips Elementary, which will run from June 1-July 16, again with available Chromebooks and hotspots.
The teachers in both elementary programs have been training on using the Google Classroom learning management platform to help provide lessons, and students can also draw upon both free and district-paid online services.
Students who are not in summer school can still use online services linked at BPSLEARN.COM.
Virtual Summer School for grades 6-8 is being offered June 1-22 and is being offered for grades 9-12 in two sessions, from June 1-22 and also June 29-July 20. The students will be using the take-home Chromebooks they were issued for the 2019-2020 school year. The program will make use of the Canvas Learning Management System which, like almost all district technology services, is funded by bond issues. Cellular hotspots have been available for students in grades 6-12 since early April.
Students in summer programs can swap out devices as needed on Wednesdays from 10-11 a.m. at BHS through July 15, except for July 1. If it rains on a Wednesday, that swap shifts to Thursday.
Preparing for Distance Learning in 2020-2021
 We expect that some students may elect to remain in Distance Learning when classes begin in August, and health experts predict periodic school closures might be needed in 2020-2021 with an expected surge in viral cases in autumn and winter. So the district will be working through the summer to outfit classroom Chromebook carts for grades 3-5 and has ordered 2,200 additional Chromebooks for PreKindergarten through 2nd grade, which are expected to be available in early autumn. A mix of bond issue and federal stimulus funding is being used, and spare Chromebooks purchased with bond funding will be available for students whose families elect to remain in Distance Learning. Additional cellular hotspots will be purchased via a $100,000 grant from Phillips 66 via the Bartlesville Regional United Way.
Chromebook carts like these are expected to be in every classroom from 3rd through 5th grade in August, with carts of touchscreen Chromebooks in every PreKindergarten through 2nd Grade classroom in early autumn
Bond issues also fund the electronic textbooks and services for subjects such as English, math, science, and social studies, and many different paid online services which students access via the Clever portal.
Remind, New Websites, and Mobile App
Annual bond issue funding for technology services is also allowing the district to update its communications. Enhanced Remind messaging services were purchased for 2019-2020 and became vital for many parent and student communications when the pandemic forced the schools into Distance Learning in April and May. Later this summer the district will launch new websites and a mobile app, the latter available for both Android and Apple iOS devices.
 New district websites and a mobile app will launch later this summer.
Promethean ActivPanelsDuring the May shutdown of the school buildings, new Promethean ActivPanels, which are large touchscreens with built-in apps and connections to teachers' classroom stations, were installed in every classroom at Ranch Heights, Wayside, and Wilson elementary schools. These replaced the older ActivBoard "electronic whiteboards", which relied entirely on a teacher's desktop computer and ceiling-mounted projectors.
 The three remaining elementary schools will be updated from ActivBoards to ActivPanels in the summer of 2021. The best of the displaced ActivBoards are being repurposed for over a dozen remaining classrooms at Bartlesville High School which have ceiling projectors but are not yet equipped with electronic whiteboards. Now almost every classroom in the district will have a wall with interactive touch capability for teacher use and, when safety protocols and measures allow it, for student interaction.
On-Going Operational ExpensesThe bond issues also continue to provide annual funding for STEM, science, athletics, fine arts, furniture, maintenance, safety, and transportation needs across the district. Thanks to the regular investment by the voters within the district, it will continue to be a great time to a Bruin.
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April 2020 Bond Projects Update
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 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.
ChromebooksThe 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.
 Safety ProjectsThe 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 TouchscreensThe 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. | Custer Stadium Pressbox The masonry for the elevator shaft in the alleyway is complete. Eventually, the blue chairbacks at Custer Stadium will be replaced.
  Agriculture BuildingThe 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.
 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 SealCentral 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. |
Pressbox steel going up; new buses out on routes
 | The latest new buses, funded by the 2019 bond issue, were also received and have been put to work hauling students.  Thanks to the recent bond issues, all of the district's route buses are now 2017 or newer models. This has greatly improved fuel efficiency and reliability and reduced repair costs. |
Bond projects continue through winter months
During the winter of 2019-2020, various projects funded by the August 2019 bond issue have been underway, and the district is busy placing orders made possible by the 2016 and 2019 bond issues. Below are updates as of late February 2020. Agriculture buildingThe in-ground work and slab for the agriculture building on the south end of the Bartlesville High School campus is complete. Soon structural steel will be erected. When finished, the two-classroom building will resemble the adjacent Bruin Activity Center indoor practice facility. The district is currently hiring a second agriculture teacher so that a full scope of courses can be offered. Custer Stadium pressboxThe 65-year-old pressbox was lifted off the stadium over winter break, and the new elevator shaft at the end of the alleyway is under construction. Steel arrived in late February and has been laid along the alleyway, which is temporarily closed to anyone except construction workers. Baseball & softball in-field turfContractors began laying down the new turf at Rigdon Field at Doenges Memorial Stadium in February, and that baseball field project will soon be complete. The contractors will then move over to the east side of town to install turf on the softball in-field between Hoover Elementary School and Madison Middle School. 5th-grade Chromebook cartsThe district has ordered 21 carts with 30 Chromebooks each to equip all 5th-grade classrooms. The six or more Chromebook carts already at each elementary school will then be shared across Pre-Kindergarten through 4th-grade. Chromebooks for high school teachersThe district has ordered convertible 2-in-1 touchscreen Chromebooks for all high school teachers. Elementary and middle school teachers received similar devices in January 2017 via a state grant. The new devices for high school teachers support a precise active EMR stylus, which will facilitate instruction, especially in the older high school classrooms that lack an electronic whiteboard. Touchscreen wall panels for elementary schoolsOver 100 75" touchscreen Promethean ActivPanels are being ordered for summer installation at Ranch Heights, Wayside, and Wilson elementary schools. Those schools had the most first-generation Promethean ActivBoards which are finally wearing out after a decade or more of heavy use. Hoover, Jane Phillips, and Richard Kane classrooms will be updated in the summer of 2021. The new ActivPanels are bright, include built-in instructional apps, and respond to both pens and fingers. Camera upgrade comingA Request for Proposal will soon be posted here at BRUINBOND.COM to replace hundreds of indoor and outdoor security cameras across the district. The project will also update the camera servers and almost double the number of cameras overall. |
Bond projects over Winter Break 2019-2020
Over the 2019-2020 Winter Break, the old pressbox atop Custer Stadium was removed to allow for the construction of a much larger and more functional pressbox. The infield at Doenges Memorial Stadium was also dug out to allow for installation of artificial turf on Rigdon Field. Both projects were overwhelmingly approved by voters in an August 2019 bond issue election.
On December 16, 2019, the school board approved a guaranteed maximum price of $2,492,761 from Manhattan Construction Company for the replacement of the pressbox as well as the construction of a new vocational agriculture building on the south end of the Bartlesville High School campus.
PressboxOver Winter Break, a crane lifted away the upper level of the pressbox, which had sat top the stadium for 65 years.
 The lower level, which had been enclosed some years back to boost the capacity of the tiny pressbox, was dismantled along with its lower sheeting, exposing the original concrete risers.
 The new pressbox will extend farther north and south atop the stadium, stretching across the three central seating sections.
  It will include split-level rooms for both visiting media and coaches, home media and coaches, and press and scoreboard functions. There will be an open video balcony and a small hospitality room, along with single-user men's and women's restrooms.
An alley elevator on the west side will provide ADA access to the pressbox as well as ADA access to the top internal concessions and restrooms level of Custer Stadium, allowing for the retirement of the original concessions dumbwaiter.
A temporary "doghouse" for spring sports scoreboard operations will be used during the construction of the new pressbox, which is slated for completion by the start of school in August 2020.
Agriculture buildingThe new vocational agriculture building, which will include classroom and shop space, will be constructed on a south parking lot at the high school, near the Bruin Activity Center indoor practice facility. It is also slated for completion for the start of classes in August 2020.
 | Baseball infieldThe baseball infield at Doenges Memorial Stadium was also being dug out over Winter Break to allow for the installation of artificial turf on Rigdon Field. In October 2019, the school board approved a $569,400 bid from General Sports Surfaces LLC to replace the infields of the baseball field at Doenges Memorial Stadium downtown as well as the softball field just west of Madison Middle School in the northeast part of the city.
  Central tuck-and-seal
In November 2019 the school board approved a $129,146 bid from Jim Martin Sr. for a tuck and seal project on the exterior brick at Central Middle School. The building is over a century old and requires this periodic work to reduce the penetration of moisture through the exterior masonry which otherwise damages the interior plaster walls. Bond issues in 2013 and 2016 funded major renovations at Central.
Madison HVAC & serving line
In November the board also approved $109,000 for the installation of 8 HVAC units at Madison Middle School and $15,217 for 8 additional units for the school's gyms. These projects will help complete the replacement of all of the original HVAC equipment at the site, which was installed over a half-century ago when it opened as Sooner High School. The board also approved $14,898.76 to re-tube a boiler at Bartlesville High School.
In October the board approved $10,632 for a hot food serving counter from Curtis Restaurant Supply to replace a failing serving line at Madison's cafeteria.
Safety improvements
The school board has approved $9,000 for weighted roll-down shades for the windows in classroom doors for use across the district during lockdowns. It also approved $40,000 for a dozen new LobbyGuard kiosks for visitor screening at school sites. Those will be used to replace existing LobbyGuard units at each school site as needed.
The board approved $18,415.32 to Pinkley Sales Co. for a solar-powered lighted school crossing system to be installed at 18th Street and Hillcrest Drive to improve the safety of Bartlesville High School students who park in the small lot across Hillcrest Drive. The district pays for the equipment while the City of Bartlesville graciously covers its installation. Additional crosswalk systems for other priority crossing needs will be purchased in the coming months.
In the coming months, the existing security camera systems across the district will be replaced and many additional cameras will be installed.
More to comeBy the end of the spring 2020 semester, new route buses will be received, completing the update of the fleet with all buses being from 2016 or later. The older buses will be designated as surplus and available for auction in the summer.
Work will continue over the summer of 2020 with the construction of expanded parking at Ranch Heights Elementary, a car line drive at Central Middle school, the installation of an orchestra stage lift in the BHS Fine Arts Center, and replacing original elevators at Madison Middle School and Bartlesville High School.
The decade-old electronic whiteboards and classroom ceiling projectors at Ranch Heights, Wayside, and Wilson elementary schools will be replaced by new touchscreen displays over the summer, with the remaining three elementary schools receiving that upgrade the following summer. The schools to go first were the ones with the highest numbers of original electronic whiteboards, which are reaching the end of their service life.
Bond funding will also provide new social studies curricular materials for the 2020-2021 academic year, such as electronic textbooks for secondary school students to use with their Chromebooks. It will also fund Chromebook carts for each fifth-grade classroom at each of the six elementary schools for 2020-2021.
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Bids awarded for turf on Rigdon Field at Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium and at softball field
The district has begun awarding bids from initial funding from the bond issues which over 80% of voters approved in August 2019.
 Spence Rigdon is currently the school district’s Athletics and Activities Director and was instrumental in the effort to have the baseball field and stadium transferred from the city to the district in 2016 so that the district could invest in renovations and maintenance of the historic facility. Mr. Rigdon is in the final stages of his life due to the ravages of colon cancer, which he was diagnosed with three and a half years ago. After numerous surgeries and extensive treatment, he is now transitioning to hospice care. Concerning Rigdon’s battle with cancer, Superintendent Chuck McCauley has stated, “Spence is the toughest person I have ever known.” Mr. Rigdon has positively influenced many lives through his coaching in baseball and other sports, teaching, church, athletics administration, and community involvement. He taught social studies in the Bartlesville Public Schools for 18 years including a long stint in the district’s alternative high school program. He served as a district varsity baseball coach for thirteen years. In 2015, he was the recipient of the annual Kurt Schmoldt Teacher Appreciation Award and soon after that earned a master’s degree. In June of 2018, he became the Director of Athletics and Activities. A Bartlesville native, Rigdon is a 1991 graduate of Bartlesville High School. He attended Kansas City Community College and graduated from Pittsburg State University in Kansas, where he played baseball. Rigdon began his career as the head baseball coach in Marysville, Kansas in 1996 while also coaching junior-level football and basketball. He later returned to Bartlesville to coach junior high football and basketball and freshman baseball. In 2001, he began coaching varsity football and was named the varsity assistant coach in baseball in 2004 before his stint as head coach. Spence’s wife, Christina, is a Family Support Coordinator for Title I schools in the district. They have three children: Rilee (19), Bradee (16), and Cy (11). A Go Fund Me account has been created to support the Rigdon family at https://www.gofundme.com/f/7u39w-bless-the-spence-rigdon-family  |  A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE STADIUM & FIELDCURRENT USES |
Public invited to board meetings on next bond issue
Old turf removed from Lyon Field
In December the Bartlesville Board of Education approved a $452,000 contract with United Turf and Track of Edmond to replace the artificial turf on Lyon Field at Custer Stadium. The former grass Custer Field was renamed the E. H. "Ted" Lyon Field at Custer Stadium in 2008 in recognition of a $650,000 donation by the Lyon Foundation to install Momentum 41 artificial turf. That initial installation has reached the end of its projected ten-year lifespan. Supt. Chuck McCauley shared, "We are very fortunate that the Lyon Foundation paid for the turf originally. The agreement was that the foundation would pay for it, and the district would maintain it and replace it when it was time.” Drainage improvements made as part of the initial installation reduced the cost of the replacement, with funding for the turf replacement coming from the district's 2016 bond issue. The new turf will make Bartlesville High School the first in the state to feature a shock padding underlay with AstroTurf Rootzone 3D3 Blend to provide better shock absorbency and protection for players. The shock pad will be installed between the sub-base layer and the turf and includes a 25-year warranty. Superintendent McCauley has stated, "I am really excited about the opportunity to install a shock pad and feel like this is the best product for our students." The new turf scheduled to arrive on campus on Friday, January 25 is the type that has been used for practice facilities at OSU and OU. The district is wanting the new installation completed around February 23 before Bruin soccer starts in early March, with a $1,000 penalty option if the target date is not met. The new turf logos will use Lagoon Blue as a match for the light blue of the Bruins, navy blue, and white, with different shades of green every 10 yards. Instead of permanent soccer lines, temporary ones will be painted on for soccer season and should flake off with the weather over time. The used turf has been made available for uses around Bartlesville, with the city opting to take some for use at Price Field and other organizations taking advantage of the opportunity. |  The turf installed in 2008 has been rolled up and removed from Lyon Field
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Bond Issue Oversight Committee Tour
In July 2018 the Bond Issue Oversight Committee toured the completed bond issue projects at Bartlesville High School, Central Middle School, and Madison Middle School.
Bartlesville High School
| Central Middle School Via the 2012 bond issue, almost the entire building was renovated in 2015-16 and a new gymnasium was constructed. The 2016 bond issue allowed the auditorium to be renovated with audiovisual updates, plaster repairs, paint, new carpet, new seating on the main floor, and repairs to historic seating in the balcony, which had a glass safety rail added. Madison Middle School All of the remaining original HVAC systems were replaced. The former shops were renovated into a commons with a bus loop drive. The auditorium seating was replaced, the stage repaired, and the audiovisual systems updated. The choir room was relocated and the former choir room repurposed for orchestra. The flooring, paint, and lighting were updated in the main gym and auxiliary gym. The cafeteria was repainted and new furniture provided. The office was also renovated.  |
District provides Chromebooks to students and staff
Here's an overview of the progress made since 2016 on the district's Student Computing Initiative, which is transforming the learning environment.
Chromebooks for StudentsIn August 2016, district voters approved a bond issue that included funding to gradually deploy Chromebooks to all secondary students over four years.
 The district's long-term plan for student computing devices
 In fall 2016 the district purchased a dozen Chromebook charging carts with a total of almost 400 Chromebooks. The photo shows several of the high school teachers who volunteered to help wire up the carts. The carts have been used since then in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade English classrooms.
In 2016-2017, 29 teachers set up 52 online courses at the high school in its new Canvas Learning Management System. That year 1,222 students completed 2,321 assignments in Canvas and participated in 946 electronic discussions.
This heavy adoption, before any take-home devices were deployed, was promoted by an online Kung Fu Canvas course of instructional videos and assignments, given inside of Canvas, to high school teachers. Teachers received instructional equipment incentives they could use in their teaching as they completed each of six phases of training, earning different Kung Fu Canvas "Belts".
  Granger Meador issues a Chromebook to a Freshman Academy student
This school year, 444 Chromebooks have been issued to freshmen for use both at school and at home. Each Chromebook has its own always-on case with a stitched Bruins logo.
 The take-home Chromebooks in the Freshman Academy and the Chromebook carts in the 10-12 English classrooms have led 69 teachers to offer 118 courses in Canvas to 1,677 students at the high school. Those students submitted almost 3,000 digital assignments in the first semester.
The shift to digital assignments has already dramatically changed college instruction and is making its way into the nation's secondary schools. A 2016 meta-analysis of 65 journal articles and 31 doctoral dissertations concluded that providing each student with a computing device led to:
Realizing that a $250 device with charger and carrying case that travels to and from school each day would carry risks of damage and loss, over 400 of the Freshman Academy students' parents opted to purchase a $25 annual insurance plan which provides full damage/loss coverage for a first incident and half coverage for a second one during the year. The district runs the insurance program and uses the premiums to operate its new Student Technology Support Team (STST) classes at the high school.
 The student technicians have found that rebooting or reinstalling the Chrome operating system are the most common solutions for a mind-bogglingly diverse mix of user issues. Some Chromebooks suffer hardware failures such as power issues or cracked screens, like the one that STST member Andrea Hernandez prepares to replace in the photo below. The students created a video highlighting common issues.  Ms. Meador reported that 7% of insured students had damage/loss incidents in the first semester, including 19 cracked screens. While Dell did not consider the glued-in screens replaceable parts, Ms. Meador used the insurance premiums to purchase replacements, and her students successfully repaired the devices. In the photo, STST members Olive Foust, Artturi DeBlieck, and Logan Gray are shown replacing Chromebook screens.
 Student Technology Support Team students repairing Chromebooks
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