Tulsa World du lieu suivant : Tulsa, Oklahoma • 13

Tulsa World Pace A 13 Monday March 4 2002 IHSIDE Transitions A 14 Ciassihi ds A 16 19 wwwtulsaworldcom MMM ocus unding tight for schools By Ralph Marler World Staff Writer Two Osage County schools separated by 32 miles in the largest county are going opposite directions While Wynona school district is touting student growth and renovated classrooms the Burbank school district is closing Wynona schools are in good shape said Superintendent IIM Garrett who has seen the school gain students while the school facilities have been updated thanks to bond issues grants and donations In Burbank though patrons will vote soon on annexing to adjoining school districts The school board decided to close the school this May because student enrollment fell as did funding Wynona: gifts grants and grit A few years ago Wynona Superin tendent 1LM Garrett was pricing car pet at a Bartlesville store Just maybe Garrett thought he could afford to re carpet one or two classrooms of his elementary school lady struck up a conversation with me asked me what I did I told her I was a school superintendent and was just seeing if I could afford some Garrett said think any more about it But a couple of days later I got a phone call from the woman She asked me how many classrooms we had I told her 18 And she wanted me to meet her at the carpet Garrett met the woman at the store he recalled She asked how he would like carpet ing for the whole school? af ford Garrett re sponded While Garrett priced some cheaper car pet the woman looked at the more expensive I do some thing I do it the woman told Garrett She asked for the school budget and bond history A few days later Garrett said the woman called and asked when he could have all 18 classrooms vacant Garrett said they piled all the class books and furniture in the old gymnasium letter tliat day the car pet trucks rolled up and the carpet layers began re placing all carpet in the classrooms and hallways in cluding the admin istration building The entire project cost the woman some $85000 Garrett said When the woman came by later Garrett and wife Sophie gave the woman a tour to see what her gift had done She liked it all except for one classroom that she instructed be redone because the carpet wasn't laid in the proper pattern The woman insisted that she re main anonymous saying God rewards those who give anonymously Such is the way Wynona has man aged to keep its school open and prosper in the past decade said Garrett meet the needs of the par said Garrett superintendent since 1991 have a clean school a safe school a cordial Wynona school district is between Pawhuska and Hominy covering 110 square miles of mostly rural farm and ranch lands Garrett has seen the Wynona school grow to 210 students in grades kindergarten through 12 compared to the 129 students when he was hired Many are permanent transfers from adjoining school districts attracted by small teacher to student ra tio and its slow but sure moderniza tion Garrett recalled balking the first time he interviewed for the superin job The 1920 administration building and elementary school had old fashioned high ceilings with a bare bulb hanging down for light The carpeting was 20 years old and looked it Garrett drove away thinking he would not leave retirement for such a challenge His wife Sophie urged him to re consider He happy since retir ing in 1979 after 20 years in Oklaho ma education and needed something to do that he loved Garrett returned to Wynona and the then school board members asked him to fix what he had called Over the years all ceilings have been dropped in the administration building and elementary school end ing the All class rooms have been painted Bond issues small but needed passed by substantial margins to buy new class room furniture heating and air condi tioning new roofs Garrett got grants that put three computer stations in every classroom even kindergarten 'Hie computers are linked to the Internet for long distance learning with other schools all stu dents are loaned modules to take home to work software programs usually under parental oversight and help It not all com puters though School librarian Karen Hough con ducts a reading contest for all grades setting a goal of 20000 books for the school year As of mid ebruary her students have read 13000 books Wynona also has other donors who help the school meet some needs Garrett said Garrett said oth er school work has been done with volunteer la bor or donated materials such as plastering walls or putting up drywall Even Garrett has pitched in to build a conference table for the school board and com puter desks for the school comput er lab and labor for the bus bam Wynona budget now is about $14 million annually three times what it was when he came on board The school has 19 teachers two cooks who feed 250 for breakfast and lunch in a new kitchen two cus todians and two office workers The 1 970 built high school has 58 students a small number now that may increase in years ahead As long as the school has the money it can operate a high school state education department spokesmen said Garrett said his relationship with the school board that hired him was good He set his salary at $38000 a year because that was all Wynona could afford He now makes $72000 annually The earlier school board did one thing that surprised Garrett he said When the business manager moved Garrett sought resumes and presented them for board consider ation But the board had already sought out a replacement hiring his wife Sophie The two have adjoining offices along with his secretary Garrett 66 resting on the past busy pondering what other im provements the school needs After all he has seven grandchildren in the school now But his job may not survive this school year Three members of the current school board voted not to re hire Garrett on Jan 7 But because the board give him a required 10 day notice the full five member board rescinded its vote four days lat er said board President Eddie ields ields said Garrett told the board three years ago that he would retire this year if it gave him a three year contract and raise ields said Garrett since changed his mind but the board still is evaluating whether to make a change Garrett agreed that he told the board he would but said that was not in his contract not ready to retire said I vlK it Wynona second grade student Travis Millard navigates an educational compact disc In school The 210 student Wynona school district allows students to take the computer modules home to work on software programs Each classroom In the Wynona schools has three Internet linked computer stations bought with grants Photos by ROBERT CROSSTulsa World Hi 1 4 Ma SB Hi HB i HI v'v aT rV: Mp MB 4 i 1 HK mhm Above teacher Karen Moore and preschool student Hanna Humble 4 walk into the Burbank school Moore teaches kindergarten and preschool a total of nine students The rural Osage County school will shut down for good In May because of declining enrollment W' 4 i i' if jOM HM Garrett "We meet the needs of the parents We have a clean school a safe school a cordial the Wynona superintendent said Tod Williams "This community has anticipated the closing at least eight the Burbank superintendent said Garret I Burbank: ormer boom town losing its school Some 32 miles west of Wynona Burbank school patrons are preparing to see their school close its doors May 24 ending 98 years of reading writing and arithmetic there said Superintendent Tod Williams The small kindergarten through eighth grade school has seen student enrollment drop to 42 shrinking also the number of required programs and teachers Williams said fewer students you have the less state contributing to the shakiness Williams said community has anticipated tlie closing at least eight Wil liams said The school was able to get a superintendent for free when a for mer superintendent agreed to work free almost two years to off the Williams said Williams was hired last September knowing he have a job or a school after a year school board decided in No vember to begin the process in which Burbank patrons vote to annex to oth er school districts Budget forecasts showed the school would run out of money in ebruary 2003 said board President Don Sherrill That election is to be ordered by the state Department of Education and handled by the Osage County Election Board School patrons will vote on the sin gle question of annexing parts of the Burbank school district to adjoining districts Shidler airfax or Ponca City Several community meetings have been held to explain the annexation process to Burbank patrons said Wil liams And numerous visits were made to the three adjoining school districts to assure that the Burbank students would be welcome he said Williams has been through the pro cess once before last year when the Panhandle school of Garrett was forced to close ran out of Williams said saying the Garrett last year had five students closing uncommon for the smaller rural schools Indeed Burbank school itself annexed two small nearby schools in 1929 30 And Burbank high school closed in 1968 with students going to adjacent dis tricts Since 1991 some 84 schools across the state have closed or consolidated with or annexed to adjoining schools according to the Oklahoma State De partment of Education or Burbank's five teachers and Williams the next three months will Ponca ityd Burbank airfax I Wynona Ta OSflGEqon Tulsa I be spent closing down the school and finding jobs None of the teachers are guaranteed jobs with the three adjoin ing districts assets (school buses school buildings cash in hand) and li abilities (unemployment insurance building upkeep last minute bills) will be conveyed to Shidler The school building may be conveyed back to the Burbank town for use as a town cen ter he said Next year the only school presence will be the school buses transporting Burbank students to nearby schools Then this small town of 155 will have one less memory a far cry from its oil boom heyday in the 1920s when Burbank was called the seventh largest oil field in the United States Ralph Matter World staff writer can be reached at 581 8480 or via mail at ralphmariertulsaworidcom.