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The Bartlesville School Board heard 35 minutes of public comment Monday night that was actually targeted for the ears of legislators.  Bartlesville Education Association President Heather Boyle called for the board to suspend classes.

 

Boyle says the association is fully aware of the potential problems suspending classes could cause for local families.

 

About 500 people were on hand for the meeting.  The time spent hearing from the public potentially could have lasted a lot longer.  If everyone who filled out a card to speak and used their available time, public comment would have lasted at least 90 minutes.

 

Band Director Alex Claussen hopes the spark lit Monday night will become a blazing inferno that will catch the attention of the state legislature.

 

Cheryl Fentress took quotes from famous speeches by Thomas Payne and others to make her point.  The legislature hopefully will see the light.

 

Former board member and community volunteer, Vanessa Drummond says funding could drop to the point that Bartlesville would have to close another school. 

 

The school board will hold another meeting at the Community Center on Wednesday evening, February 28th to hear more public comment on education funding.  If there is significant community support and if there is a bill that the education community could get behind, Superintendent, Chuck McCauley says Bartlesville could do what it did in 1990.  Classes were suspended for five days so that the state education community could gather in Oklahoma City by the thousands to lobby the legislature and march on the capitol.