Voters to decide if Osage School District will annex into Pryor School District – FOX23 News

PRYOR, Okla. — Teachers at Osage Public School train college students from Kindergarten by eighth grade.

It’s a rural college and a few folks like that independence and agricultural atmosphere.

But the Osage Public School is working with much less cash from the state due to decrease enrollment.

Dr. Lisa Muller is the superintendent for each the Osage Public School and Pryor Public Schools whereas directors await the voters’ determination at Tuesday’s election on whether or not or not to annex Osage Public School with Pryor Public Schools.

She stated, due to low enrollment, she anticipates the college will lose its state funding quickly if it’s not annexed into Pryor’s district.

“Since 2019-2020, the state aid is $160,000 a year less than it was at that time,” Muller says, “So it has dropped off pretty substantially and it is challenging to continue operations with such a small enrollment.”

Several elements play into that drop in enrollment, she stated, disruptions in training attributable to COVID and the switch of scholars to Pryor – though she admits, some college students have transferred from Pryor to Osage as effectively.

In the 2019-2020 college 12 months, 145 college students had been enrolled in Osage Public School. In 2020 to 2021, enrollment dropped to 143 college students. In 2021-2022, scholar enrollment dropped to 140 college students.

This present tutorial 12 months, scholar enrollment dropped to 118 college students. That quantity was as excessive as 272 within the 2008-2009 tutorial 12 months.

In the final three years, the college has misplaced 19 lecturers and 21 assist workers.

The annexation, Muller stated, would enable them to pay larger compensation for lecturers.

”Currently, PE is the one particular supplied right here,” she stated. “We offer art, music and STEM education specials, technology specials at Pryor. So they’re more opportunities.”

She stated there may be extra assist for behavioral intervention, counseling, and psychological well being assets, as effectively.

But, not everybody agrees that is the best factor to do.

For one factor, taxes would go up for Osage property house owners.

Muller stated, at present enrollment ranges, it might doubtless be three years earlier than the state may drive annexation or consolidation with one other college district.

Patricia Moffett is a candidate for the Osage School Board election in April, ought to voters fail to approve the annexation.

”If we’ve got the time, I’d quite take it,” Moffett stated. “Once this is consolidated, once this is annexed, it’s done and we will have no real representation on the board for at least five years because the ward that we would be assigned to won’t come up for a vote for another five years.”

Moffett needs to give the Osage Public School extra time to rebuild its enrollment numbers.

If the voters move the annexation of the college, then it might be annexed into Pryor Public Schools starting the following college 12 months.

If voters fail to move the annexation, Muller stated the district will have to regulate expenditures to the accessible finances, which might imply decreasing workers and mixing school rooms.

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