It was a very busy evening Monday at the Bartlesville Public Schools Board of Education meeting. It began with public comment--and there were three of them.

 

Julie Merciez took to the microphone first to praise the addition of the new Vo-Ag department. She then respectfully criticized the board on the issue of, at one time, giving staff the option of wearing badges to signify they have been vaccinated for COVID-19. Merciez, who has a long medical background, was happy to hear that the idea had been dropped but not after making her feelings known.

 

When questioned last week at the special school board meeting at the commons at Bartlesville High School, we asked Supt. Chuck McCauley about that very issue. He said it was too divisive so the idea was dropped rather quickly.

 

Jonathan Bolding raised the issue of the continuation of the wearing of facemasks at school even as the local COVID-19 active case number fail to register above 1%.

 

 

Former school board member Tyler Vaclaw then asked the board if they would please consider allowing for extra seating for graduation.

 

 

After the public comment, Supt. McCauley announced that a survey regarding a relaxation of COVID-19 protocols among staff has been taken and that a similar survey will be sent to parents on Tuesday, April 20.

 

McCauley said much of what determines the level of relaxing the COVID-19 measures relies on what the community color code for COVID will be on Wednesday. If it remains in the yellow-green catagory, relaxing of the mask-wearing protocols may be enacted.

 

The board then voted on two separate measures regarding the 2021 bond issue. A vote on the final resolution for the $27 million dollar bond issue will take place at the May 17 school board meeting.

 

As for the lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma Board of Education, the vote was unanmimous. At issue is the recent equalization funding measure. voted to authorize the school district’s attorneys to file claims against the Oklahoma State Board of Education in the pending Oklahoma County district court case the district joined in 2017. The action stems from the State Board's recent and unexpected (4-3) vote to resolve the 2017 litigation and redistribute local and state-dedicated sources of revenue to charter schools, including virtual charter schools like Epic, effective July 1, 2021.