Questions for Special Board Meeting (May 2,2011)

Questions for Special Board Meeting (May 2,2011)
1. Has the district looked at the option of going to a four-day school week instead of the
current five-day plan? Could cost savings be realized through such a plan? What are the
arguments for and against such a plan? (Dr. Quinn)
2. Would a slight increase in local ad valorem taxes ease some of the Bartlesville Public
School District's budget pains and perhaps alleviate the need to close Oak Park
Elementary School? What about increasing taxes throughout the state to help create
additional revenue to ease the burden on common education and other state-funded
agencies in Oklahoma? (Tim Green)
3. Where are the funds that the state is cutting from common education going? Weren't
more funds for common education supposed to be generated by the lottery? (Tim Green)
4. Voters passed school bond issues in 2001 (for $30.5 million) and 2007 (for $29.95
million). Why can't some of that money be used to save Oak Park? Could a special bond
issue be proposed to help offset the budget challenges which the district is currently
facing? (Tim Green)
5. The BPSD was expected to realize savings by closing the Will Rogers Early Childhood
Center a year early. Were these savings realized, and if so, how was the money used?
(Tim Green)
6. Please go into detail as to exactly how the estimated $600,000 in cost savings - on an
annual basis - will be realized by closing Oak Park Elementary School. Aren't most of
the projected savings in the area of staffing? Doesn't the plan include not having to have
a reduction in force? Though cost savings will be realized by closing Oak Park, won't
some additional costs be added, such as those which will come from transporting Oak
Park students to their new school? How do these costs affect the budget picture? (Dr.
Quinn)
7. What other plans were considered for budget relief in addition to the option of closing
Oak Park? How much input was sought from the community in regard to these plans?
(Dr. Quinn)
8. In light of the recent additions which were made to Ranch Heights, Wayside and
Woodrow Wilson elementary schools, was the plan always in place to close Oak Park?
Was the decision to add onto the three elementary schools ultimately a good one,
especially in light of the fact that there is seemingly enough room to house all of the
students from Oak Park at Wilson? Is there any truth to the rumor that consideration is
being given to the possibility of building a new elementary school, especially in an area
that is seen to be growing within Bartlesville, such as the location near Washington Park
Mall? (Doug Divelbiss)
9. How much did the additions at those three schools - Ranch Heights, Wayside and Wilson
- cost the district? (Tim Green)
10. The BPSD's fund balance for the upcoming 2011-12 academic year is expected to be
$5.9 million, or around 15.2 percent of the district's total budget. Can some of that
money be used to save Oak Park? What about money from the BPSD's building fund?
(Tim Green)
11. How much in funding does the district receive to educate each student? How does that
money affect the BPSD's budget? What percentage of the money comes from the state
and what are some other major sources of revenue? As state funding seems to be
unreliable these days, is there a way for the BPSD to reduce its reliance on that specific
source of revenue? (Tim Green)
12. If Oak Park is closed, will the students who are forced to relocate to Wilson receive the
same high level of education that they received at their former school? (Dianne Martinez)
13. What concern do you have for the welfare of the Oak Park community if the decision is
indeed made to close the school? Will there be anything that can be done to ease the pain
of the closing, as the school is seemingly such a vital part of the neighborhood? Is there a
,:\,ayto fill the void if the summer feeding program disappears along with the school? (Dr.
Quinn and Doug Divelbiss)
14. BPSD officials have displayed their support for the "neighborhood school" concept. With
that being the case, how does the plan to close Oak Park fit into that concept? (Dianne
Martinez)
15. If the decision is made to close Oak Park, that would leave only two out of six BPSD
elementary schools west of the Caney River. What are your thoughts about this
possibility? (Dr. Quinn)
16. The original plan for changing the elementary school attendance boundaries - to allow
for six schools if needed instead of the current seven - was recently altered. Can you give
us some insight into those changes and how they will affect everyone? How many
children are affected by the changes to the elementary school attendance boundaries?
Why was the decision to make most of the changes go from the west to the east? How
many students would be affected if we rotated the other way - from east to west? Why
are the students of Wilson Elementary being split three ways? Current students will be
either kept at Wilson or moved to either Hoover or Wayside. Was there an alternate plan
for changing the attendance boundaries? Who would be responsible for making a new
plan? Could Wilson just absorb all of Oak Park's students so that no other attendance
boundary changes would have to be made? (Dr. Quinn)
17. How do the salaries ofBPSD administrators compare to that ofthose in comparable
districts? (Scott Bilger)
18. Can teachers and administrators take a pay cut in order to save money? Have raises for
them been budgeted for the upcoming 2011-12 academic year? If so, can that move be
justified in light of current funding challenges? Can all district employees - including
administrators - take a temporary five percent pay cut to allow for some budget relief?
(Doug Divelbiss)
19. If activities such as athletics, band and/or busing were cut, how much savings would the
district realize? (Tim Green)
20. How many middle school students - from Central and Madison - will be affected by the
new boundaries? How difficult are transfers at the middle school level if some students
and parents aren't comfortable with the changes at the middle schoollevel? (Sam
Herriman)
21. If the new attendance boundaries are implemented, will the paperwork for our children be
transferred for us or will we need to go to our new home school to update our paperwork,
including transfer requests? (Dianne Martinez)
22. Why are we told that transfers will be taken when on the other side you are saying you
are trying to get the schools to their capacities? If the latter is true, will there be spots
available for transfers? (Dianne Martinez)
23. Are the "out of district" transfers going to be prioritized over "in district transfers"? Will
current transfers be prioritized over new ones? How will this be done fairly? What is the
best source of information to learn more about the district's open transfer policies?
(Dianne Martinez)
24. Would it make more sense to close another elementary school instead of Oak Park? What
about closing one of the middle schools? (Dr. Quinn)
25. If teachers can possibly "split time" between sites, would that be possible for
administrators as well? (Dr. Quinn)
26. In light of everything that is going on, can class sizes be expected to increase throughout
the district? What is a typical average class size? What are the dangers of growth beyond
that size? (Dianne Martinez)
27. Are there current properties that the Bartlesville Public School District owns which aren't
being properly utilized, such as former school buildings? Is money being spent to
maintain them? Would a better option be to sell them? (Dr. Quinn)
28. What cuts are being made at the secondary level? Can some classes - such as reading for
pleasure and keyboarding - be cut from the curriculum in order to realize some savings?
(Sam Herriman)
29. Presented is a possible alternative plan which might allow for some budget relief. What
are your thoughts on the plan? (Dr. Quinn)
30. Could each school budget be trimmed by a predetermined amount - say $60,000 apiece
for a full savings of $660,000? (Tim Green)
31. Do we typically - as a district - exhaust all grant possibilities at the local, state and
federal levels when it comes to funding assistance for a myriad of educational
possibilities? (Trudy Green)
32. If the decision is made to close down one of the three west side schools - namely Oak
Park Elementary School, of course - does that mean more money (such as Title 1 funds)
might potentially make its way to the other two? (Trudy Green)
33. Some consider the potential closing of Oak Park Elementary School to be a long-term
solution to a short-term problem, since the economy is beginning to show signs oflife
again. Why not tighten the belt for the short term and then carryon as usual once the
economy recovers? (Doug Divelbiss)
34. How many students who live in the Oak Park neighborhood actually attend school in
Dewey? If the decision is made to close Oak Park Elementary School, what is the cost
per student that the BPSD could potentially lose in revenue? (Tim Green)
35. Why is "Plan A" more desirable than "Plan B"? (Dianne Martinez)
36. Oak Park students have seemingly scored better in the area of reading than those at
Wilson. If the decision is made to close Oak Park, could Wilson potentially adopt the
reading program which is currently being utilized at Oak Park? (Dianne Martinez)
37. What will happen to the sexual predator buffer zone provided by the school?
38. If an Oak Park child becomes ill at Wilson, would the school provide transportation home
if the parent was unable to pick up the child?
39. Did BPS actually capture $320,000 of cost savings when it closed the Will Rogers Early
Childhood Center?
40. What is the $500,000 line in our budget report called "Community Services"?
41. What BPSD budget line items have increased by more than two percent in the last three
years?
42. What have been our FTE trends in teacher and administrator counts over the last three
years?
43. Is there going to be a bond election in the near future?
44. How much of an impact would lowered property values in Oak Park have on the BPSD
ad valorem tax budget?
45. Is it feasible to effectively run Oak Park with, say, only half the present administrative
staff support?