By Charles Betzler
The Allen Bowden School Board recently approved petitioning the State Board of Education to offer high school classes and to put a $2.6 million bond issue on the September ballot.
Superintendent Matthew Sweet told the Sapulpa Herald when he first arrived at Allen Bowden a little over a year ago, he asked the school board what the most pressing issue was, and the board members resoundingly told him they wanted the K-8 school to become a high school.
Sweet says it has been discussed since the 1980s and he is glad to see it move forward.
“We are happy with it, and the school board too, the school board sent us down this path,” he said.
Sweet emphasized there is strong support for the transition and for the bond issue.
“We did some surveys of just Allen Bowden’s fourth-grade through eighth-grade parents. Of that, ninety-one percent said that they would come and stay here if we had a high school, ninety-three percent said they would support the bond for a high school.”
“I look at it as just the Allen Bowden family, when you are used to small class sizes, and then you are going to Sapulpa or even Berryhill, it’s a shock to some of our kids.” He told the Sapulpa Herald that the teacher-to-student ratio is one teacher for every fifteen students. “You get a lot more attention than at 25 0r 30 kids in most of our schools.”
The superintendent feels confident the State school will grant the school’s request.
“I don’t see any reason they wouldn’t, especially in a climate of school choice. We are offering a choice not only for us but for Pretty Water and those kids.”
Sweet stated that the required high school classes will be taught and the school is prepared to start teaching those classes. “We can teach through calculus now, we have an individual who is certified to do that, we have English through (grade) twelve already on staff with credentials.”
The overall thrust, however, will be career-oriented, according to Sweet. “I have already talked to Central Tech, so we will have Career Tech in the junior and senior years, and they can also go to Tulsa Tech because of our Tulsa address. We also have TCC not too far away, they can do that as well.”
ABWILDBOTS Place 3rd
Allen Bowden is already on the cutting edge of technology with their STEM program, introduced in part by the new superintendent. Their robotics team, the ABWILDBOTS, placed 3rd out of 31 schools competing across the state at the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics Oklahoma regional competition. The amazing cadre of budding young scientists and engineers will go on to compete in an international competition which will be in St. Augustine, Florida, July 16-21, 2023.
A new building will be constructed which will house a 600-seat gymnasium, to replace the current 300-seat gymnasium, an indoor concession area, meeting rooms, and administration staff. The gym is capable of being expanded and could be used for other events. There are eight existing rooms that are to be remodeled to be used as classrooms.
Each classroom will be equipped with interactive touch screens, internet access, and state-of-the art teaching aids.
The timeline for implementation of this plan would begin with a bond issue in September, followed by a petition to the State School Board for the status change in October. If everything’s approved, Allen Bowden expects to brek ground on June 2024 on the new building and start remodeling. By August of 2024 they will be adding 9th-grade, with the next year added each year following. By 2028, Allen Bowden would be graduating their first class of seniors.
Upon approval of the bond issue, the millage will increase from approximately nine mills to 13 mills, however by the time construction starts, one millage will drop off and the rate should go back to nine mills. Sweet pointed out that this is a substantially lower millage rate than surrounding schools.
The Sapulpa Herald will highlight the bond issue and announce the date, closer to the election.
