Recent Progress Reports
| QUESTIONS?
2016 BOND ISSUE SUMMARY
Voters approved $19.4 million over a five year period for multiple purposes:
Saving Jobs & Preserving Class SizesThe primary focus of the bond issue is 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 additional administrators and support staff.
The bond will allow the district to shift more operational costs from its general fund to bond issue funds to hopefully prevent additional staffing cuts and increases in class sizes in 2017. The bond expands on operational funding already being provided via a 2012 bond issue and extends that expanded support for two additional years. It is projected that 15 or more teaching positions can be preserved from future cuts by shifting operational costs to bond funds.
Improving Instructional Technology, Equipment, and FacilitiesThe bond will provide students with the instructional technology other districts now offer but which our students lack. Since the state has now cut all textbook funding, the bond will provide both physical and digital textbooks. The bond will support and expand new STEM programs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. It will also maintain buildings and update classrooms and their furnishings that are up to 99 years old.
Targeted High-Priority RenovationsThe bond will also provide 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.
|
Progress Reports
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
|
|
December 2017 Construction Update
Bond issue projects status report for 8/1/2017
Many bond-funded projects have been going on in the district this summer. New buses and people-movers, furnishings, technology, and various renovations will benefit students when they return to school on Thursday, August 17. However, a primary focus of the August 2016 bond issue was saving teaching jobs and preserving class sizes amidst years of declining state funding for public schools. Thanks to the bond issue and the painful personnel cuts made going into the 2016-2017 school year, the district has not had to cut teachers nor student programs for 2017-2018. It also has rebuilt its fund balance to the minimum safe 7% level. This is significant, since during the 2017 fiscal year overall state appropriations to the district were down another $450,000, due to continued shortfalls in revenue. This was on top of years of prior reductions and shortfalls. An online slideshow documents the progress the district is making even in these difficult times for public schools, thanks to the continued support of local voters. A printable PDF version is attached to the end of this post. THANK YOU, BARTLESVILLE! |  You can click the above graphic to open the slideshow |
| Attachments:
2017 08 01 Bond Issue Progress Report.pdf
Construction Update, 6/19/2017
During the June 19, 2017 meeting of the Bartlesville Board of Education, Keleher Architects shared an update on the construction projects funded by the 2016 bond issue.
 The new softball locker room, the only new square footage in the 2016 bond issue, should be complete in July 2017.
|
Bond projects update at the start of summer 2017
BUSES ARRIVEAll 15 new route buses and one of two new activity buses have arrived. An additional activity bus and two people-movers, all with Bruins graphics, will arrive later.
  The second activity bus is scheduled to arrive before the end of June. The two people-mover mini-buses are out of the factory and are now receiving interior updates. The should arrive by the end of June.
With most of the new buses in place, the district will be holding an auction on Friday, June 16, 2017 at 10 a.m. at Madison Middle School for 15 old but driveable route buses, 3 non-driveable buses, a couple of other vehicles, and the old graduation stage.
PROGRESS ON ATHLETICS FACILITIESTennis courts usable by team and nearly completeThe tennis courts were put into use by the team before the end of the school year, after the contractor conformed the fencing and surface markings to the plans. The windscreens are up and the lighting should become operational in the second week of June.
 Indoor practice facility renovations come to a closeThe Bruin Activity Center renovations, which segmented the final bay of the existing facility into an weight room for the athletics program and a practice space for the cheerleaders, have come to a close. In the shots below, the only missing elements are some graphics.
These two spaces now include full climate control, an improvement over the spaces they used to occupy in the 1968 additions to the 1939 Phillips Field House. The larger 1968 auxiliary gym can now be dedicated to the school's physical education classes, while the smaller gym, which for many years was a weight room, will soon be renovated into a practice space for the pom program.
 Half of the final bay of the Bruin Activity Center, the indoor practice facility located south of 18th Street at the high school, is now a great space for the cheerleading program; the program will also have offices and locker space in the Phillips Field House once its renovations are completed
 
| NEW PROJECTS UNDERWAY AT FIVE SITES
The start of summer break means five additional projects are now underway across the district. Extracurricular programs which have had inadequate spaces for years are benefiting from the construction and renovation projects.
Phillips Field House & FAC renovations beginAt Bartlesville High School, demolition has begun on areas of the 1939 Phillips Field House and one room in the 2004 Fine Arts Center to provide additional space for the music programs. Those programs increased in size at the high school with the addition of grades 9 and 10 to the campus in 2015-2016.
The former FLEX computer lab in the Fine Arts Center will be renovated into an additional ensemble space for choir, while a ramp connection will be made in the existing band room into the adjoining 1939 Phillips Field House. The old auto shop in the field house later was a journalism lab and in recent years was used by the pom program. That area and an adjoining former classroom are being renovated into an additional instrumental music room and musical instrument and uniform storage.
The Phillips Field House was already helping out the music programs. The 2013 bond issue for the reconfiguration to grades 9-12 at Bartlesville High School funded a renovation of the former training room on the lowest level of the southeast corner of the field house into a percussion room with a ramp leading up in the main ensemble room in the adjoining Fine Arts Center.
 Much of the remainder of the 1939 Phillips Field House and its 1968 addition will also be renovated to benefit a variety of athletics programs. The pom program will gain a locker room from a former classroom. The smaller auxiliary gym, which for years has been a weight room, will become a much-improved pom practice space.
Various offices and locker rooms between the main gym and the north auxiliary gym will be renovated to improve the weight room area and locker rooms for physical education and provide improved locker room and other spaces for the cheerleading and wrestling programs. The wrestling practice room will be renovated and expanded.
Madison renovations beginThe renovations at Madison Middle School have also begun. They will bring improvements for transportation, climate control, the auditorium, and the music programs.
Bus LoopA loop around the building will be constructed to separate buses from personal vehicles, improving traffic and safety before and after school. Buses will then be able to pick up and drop off at the commons area on the north side of the school, while parent pick-up and drop-off will remain in the loop drive off Baylor.
 Dedicated Band, Choir, and Orchestra Rooms
The former Sooner High/Mid-High facility has never had separate rooms for band and orchestra, so the auditorium stage was in daily use for practice, impeding its other uses. The building of the softball locker room, which is the only new square footage in the entire 2016 bond issue, will free up space in the main building so that locker rooms just north of the auditorium can be reconfigured.
The choir program will be moving to space in the reconfigured area, allowing the orchestra program to use the former choir room. The locker room area reconfiguration will also provide an additional breakout room and storage for the music programs, while still providing appropriate locker rooms for girls and boys taking physical education classes.
Auditorium ImprovementsThe auditorium seats will be replaced with ones like those in the Fine Arts Center at the high school. The finishes and systems in the stage area and auditorium will be refreshed where needed.
HVAC UpgradeThe original steam heating system, which has been serving portions of the site since it was constructed in the late 1960s, will finally be replaced with a modern and energy efficient system with on-demand heating and cooling.
Central auditorium updateThe auditorium was the only part of Central Middle School that was not renovated in the 2013 bond issue. Now the seats on its main level will be replaced with ones like those at the high school Fine Arts Center, while the historic seats will remain in the balcony. Plaster rot will be addressed, worn carpet replaced, and there will be a safety update for the balcony rail and updates to the audiovisual system.
Jane Phillips & Hoover finish refreshesPrevious bond issues renovated the corridors of the other four district elementary schools, but Hoover and Jane Phillips had not been refreshed. Paint and carpet and other finish refreshes will bring those sites up to par. Some exterior panel issues at both sites and a parking lot issue at Jane Phillips will also be addressed.
Priority furnishings needed for Bartlesville High School, Central Middle School, Madison Middle School, and Richard Kane Elementary School should arrive in July. Carpet Elementary playgrounds
Bids were received in early June to replace the pea gravel at all of the elementary playgrounds with a safer modern material, and the deteriorated edge timbers will be replaced.
Custer Stadium locker roomsBids will be received in mid-June on the last major renovation project in the 2016 bond issue. The lowest level of Custer Stadium will be renovated to finally provide locker rooms for track, cross country, and tennis as well as space for girls soccer.
 Hoover/Madison drivewayBids will be received in mid-June to build a loop drive around Hoover Elementary to improve traffic and pedestrian safety.
CHROMEBOOKS FOR FRESHMEN
The 2016 bond issue also provided funding for a variety of technology improvements, focused on a Student Computing Initiative to phase in devices students can use at school and at home. In August 2017 all freshmen at Bartlesville High School will receive a new Chromebook. These cloud-based computers are inexpensive but powerful ways to modernize instruction.
 In August the district plans to provide parents the opportunity to purchase Chromebook insurance online with a credit card. There will also be credit card, check, and cash insurance sales on the August 4 and August 10 pick-up days. The $30 insurance plan fully covers the first incident a student might have with accidental damage to a Chromebook, and covers half the cost of a second incident.
A new Student Technology Support Team class at the high school will handle Chromebook repairs and usage issues as well as assist staff with various technology needs.
Canvas across grades 6-12 in 2017-2018More teachers will be using the Canvas Learning Management System to provide class calendars and assignments to students. All freshmen will begin submitting some digital assignments in their classes for teachers to grade online. Teachers can also use the district's G Suite for Education applications to allow students to complete some assignments while offline, uploading them when they return to campus.
|
April 2017 bond projects progress report
Here are some updates for the end of April 2017 on various construction projects funded by the August 2016 bond issue:
Tennis Courts work will continue in MayConstruction work on the new tennis courts at BHS will continue for awhile longer. In addition to finalizing the areas around the courts and laying sod, inspection of the fencing and court placement revealed some court and fence placements did not conform to the plans.So on May 1 the new courts will be closed so that corrections can be made. The cost of shifting the fencing and net poles and providing two new coats of court colors to match the placements in the specifications will be borne by the contractor.
The district has been impressed by the quality of the materials and surfaces provided by the contractor. Superintendent McCauley said, "The contractor has been great to work with, and we are confident these fixes will provide us with superb courts for our tennis teams that match precisely with the bid specifications."
This project is still coming in overall less than the original purchase order.
  | Bruin Activity Center remodel is almost completeThe new athletics weight room and cheer room in the indoor practice facility should receive occupancy clearance soon, after cleaning and clearing final punch list items.
Doenges Stadium renovations are 90% completeNew lighting and flooring have been installed. Now waiting on the delivery of lockers to complete the work. They are scheduled to arrive the second week of May
Softball field work slowed by rainsThe work at the softball field west of Madison Middle School has been greatly slowed by spring rains. But new dugouts and locker room slabs have been poured and concrete block work is starting first on the dugouts and then on the locker room.
More buses arriveTransportation Manager Orville Burks reported that four more new route buses arrived on Friday, 4/28.
Bids status updateBids have been received on the renovations for Madison Middle School and the auditorium seating projects at Madison and Central middle schools. The architects are working on contractor schedules.
Several bids come in the first week of May:
The architectural drawings for the driveways at Madison Middle School and Hoover Elementary School and for the remodel of the bottom level of Custer Stadium are 90% complete and should be completed in early May.
|
First day on the new tennis courts
Head tennis coach Jeff Birk had some great news on Wednesday, April 19, 2017: the six new courts at the high school were ready for play. So that afternoon the tennis teams were out practicing on the beautiful new courts as workers continued to construct the center stands and other finishing touches. In December 2016 the school board awarded an $875,880 bid to Merritt Tennis Court & Track Systems to replace five decrepit courts in the same location just north of Lyon Field at Custer Stadium. The project was funded by voters as part of the August 2016 bond issue. The new courts feature walkways on the north and south sides providing access to a new seating area in the middle of the court complex. Wind screens on the north and south sides will eventually feature the Bruins logo. The courts meet USTA US Open specifications. The bid came in low enough that lighting could be added on six poles, operable by a cell phone application and with an auto timer. The former lower parking lot west of the courts will become a green space, with alleyway parking spots that have been repoured. |  Click image to enlarge it |
First new route buses put into service
In August 2016, 73% of participating district voters approved the $1.95 million transportation bond issue. The main selling point for that bond issue was to update the district's bus fleet with 15 new route buses, replacing buses dating back to 1998 or earlier. Two brand new route buses were received on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 and promptly put into service. The district hopes to have a couple more in service the following week. All 15 of the new route buses should be received by May 2017. 
The bond issue is also funding the purchase of two activity buses and two smaller people-mover vehicles. All four of those vehicles will feature Bruins graphics on their exteriors. The activity buses should be delivered by the second week of May 2017. The people-movers are also in the pipeline. The new buses will be both cheaper to operate and to maintain than the old buses being retired. This will reduce the district's operating costs as it faces continued state revenue failures for public education. The community also passed the $17.5 million bond issue in August to support district operations. This has made it possible for the district to shift $450,000 in general fund expenses to bond funding for the current fiscal year (the bonds could not be sold until December, partway through the fiscal year). This is helping the district weather a projected $900,000 net loss in state funding for the 2016-2017 school year. In future fiscal years, that bond issue will allow the district to shift $700,000 in annual operating expenses from the general fund to bond funds. The support of our community is helping our public schools deal better with this continuing long-term crisis of inadequate state funding. |  One of the new buses at the Freshman Academy at Bartlesville High School |
Bond Issue Construction Projects Update, 3/26/2017
Progress continues on various construction projects funded by the 2016 Bond Issue.
Tennis CourtsThe concrete is poured for the six new tennis courts at Bartlesville High School. The finished courts will be blue with a green background, and the facility is still on track for completion in April.
Below is a nice shot of the project from a camera drone, which also provides a view of the recently refinished Doornbos Track around Lyon Field at Custer Stadium. All photographs are courtesy of Keleher Architects.
 Installation of fencing and light poles is now underway. The new courts will feature walkways on the north and south sides providing access to a new seating area in the middle of the court complex. Wind screens on the north and south sides will feature the Bruins logo.
 This facility replaces five decrepit courts which were the worst in the conference, with unsafe surfaces, inadequate seating, and too few courts for tournaments.
Softball ComplexFootings, dirt work and concrete block installation have started on the new softball locker room at Madison Middle School.
 The old dugouts have been removed and new ones started.
 The softball area at Madison Middle School serves all secondary grade levels. When the new locker room is complete, students will no longer have to travel across parking lots to use old locker rooms in the Madison building. That will free up space for more music practice and storage rooms. The approximately 1,000 square foot softball locker room and the dugouts are the only newly built spaces in the bond issue; all other projects renovate existing spaces.
Bids will be received on April 13, 2017 on the overall Madison Middle School renovation project, which includes improvements in its auditorium and nearby spaces for choir, band, and orchestra.
| Bruin Activity CenterInternal walls and lighting have been installed to carve out dedicated spaces for an athletics weight room and for cheerleading inside the existing indoor practice facility. Ductwork and HVAC is now being installed, and painting is underway.
 The relocation of the athletics weight room from the smaller of the two auxiliary gyms in the Phillips Field House will free up space to relocate the pom program and provide additional space in the Phillips Field House for band and orchestra use.
The cheerleading program's relocation to dedicated space in the Bruin Activity Center will allow them to dispense with daily movement of a bunch of mats in the larger auxiliary gym, which is used for physical education classes. A cheerleading office and locker room will be on the east side of the Phillips Field House adjoining the larger auxiliary gym.
Bids will be received on the Phillips Field House renovation project on April 11, 2017.
On the baseball front, at the Bill Doenges Memorial Stadium ceiling tile has been installed in the pressbox, HVAC units have been installed, and light installation is underway. The locker and weight rooms are now painted:
 The transfer of the stadium to the district has made it possible to finally fix the leaky roof, a problem the city had been unable to address. The stadium floor joint seals have also been repaired:
 Bids will be received on several projects in April 2017:
Drawings will be out to contractors on April 5 for them to develop bids on these additional projects:
Drawings will be out to contractors on April 15 for them to develop bids on:
You can find more online about these various facility renovations, which were part of the 2016 Bond Issue. None of these needed improvements would be possible without the support of local voters.
|
Bond issues help prevent staffing cuts
The successful August 2016 bond issues for the Bartlesville Public Schools were motivated primarily by repeated shortfalls in state funding in early 2016. Repeated cuts in state funding since 2008 had led to a reduction in the district fund balance from 15% to below 6%, a level too low to ensure it could cover its December payroll as it awaited receipt of property tax revenues in January.
So for the 2016-2017 school year, the district cut 5% of its teachers and additional administrators and support staff to address the continued loss of revenue from the state. But the district wisely did not trust that the state economy would improve nor that the legislature and governor would adequately fund public education and other state services. Since state leaders had failed to address school funding shortfalls since 2008, the district decided to seek help from local voters.
LOCAL VOTERS SHOW THEIR SUPPORT
The district went to voters in August 2016, asking them to increase local property taxes in order to shift at least $700,000 in additional annual operating expenses from the district's general fund to bond funds. The district projected that 15 or more teaching positions could be preserved from future cuts by this action. Local voters overwhelmingly approved, with 70% and 73% voting YES on two bond issues.
MORE STATE REVENUE FAILURES
During the current school year, the state has again had revenue failures in both its general fund and in dedicated funding sources for public schools. Preston Birk, the district's Chief Financial Officer, reported on 3/20/2017 to the Bartlesville Board of Education that the district is down $380,000 in state appropriated revenue from the already dismal funding from the prior year. At the current pace, he projected the district might be losing an additional $750,000 in state funding over the entire 2016-2017 school year.
BOND ISSUES ARE HELPING PREVENT ADDITIONAL TEACHER CUTS
The good news is that the district is currently NOT planning on any reduction in teachers nor an increase in average class sizes for 2017-2018 despite the continued reduction in state funding. The shifting of expenses to the bond issues is clearly a key reason for that happy outcome, along with additional administrative streamlining for 2017-2018 and the staffing cuts already implemented in 2016-2017.
FUND BALANCE SLOWLY RECOVERING
Mr. Birk reported that, with the staffing cuts and shifting of expenses to bond funds, the fund balance is projected to be at or above the minimum safe 7% level by the end of the fiscal year. Hopefully it might approach 8%.
YOUR SCHOOLS NEED HELP FROM YOUR STATE GOVERNMENT
Oklahoma is in an education funding crisis. Teacher salaries are so low that Bartlesville and other districts statewide are unable to find certified teachers for all open positions, even with large staffing cuts.
District operating revenues are so low that the district has had to ask voters to raise local property taxes to make up for the massive reductions in state funding. If, as projected, the district loses another $750,000 in state funding by the end of this school year, that will exceed the operational expense shifts provided by the bond issues. So the remaining loss and any additional future cuts will have to be borne by past and future staffing cuts.
Bartlesville voters can be proud that their support is why their district has some of the lowest average class sizes among the state's large 6A districts. But until there is a change in attitude and support for schools in state government, the district will continue to be unable to find enough certified teachers to fill open positions. And if funding shortfalls are not addressed, eventually the district will be forced to cut more teachers and raise class sizes further.
EDUCATION LEGISLATIVE FORUM ON APRIL 7
Our local legislators - Rep. Earl Sears, Rep. Travis Dunlap, and Sen. Julie Daniels - have graciously agreed to participate in an Education Legislative Forum on Friday, April 7 from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Fine Arts Center Auditorium at Bartlesville High School. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. We particularly hope that parents and grandparents who are able to attend will turn out and participate.
|   |
| Attachments:
2017 04 07 Education Legislative Forum Flyer.pdf
1-10 of 20