04/06/2018 – From Dr. Clark Ogilvie:
Dear Owasso Parents,
This past week has no doubt been very difficult for you. That being said I want to thank all of you for your unwavering support of our teachers and our school district in this time of great uncertainty. I believe all of us would agree that this may be an historic moment in the history of public education in our state and that we are very close to achieving changes that will provide huge benefits for public education in Oklahoma for many years to come.
After observing our House and Senate today it is apparent that progress has been made toward the end goal of properly funding public education by passing additional legislation for that purpose. However the Legislature has still not met the threshold of funding asked for by education and citizen groups to end the walk-out at this time. I always have to remind everyone that our Governor has to sign off on all legislation as well before it becomes law. I do not believe there will be time for all of those things to occur prior to the end of the work day at the Capitol.
At this juncture I am exercising the authority that our Board of Education gave me on March 12th to cancel classes for an additional week(April 9th -13 th ) as there would not be enough staff present to have school safely and productively. It is still very apparent that there will not be enough substitute teachers available next week to accomplish this necessary goal regardless as o solution or final agreement has been reached by the Legislature.
If a workable solution/agreement is reached sometime next week, there is a chance that we would resume classes prior to Friday, the 13th. Should we be out an additional full week the last day for classes to end would be Friday, June 8th.
On a personal level I deeply regret the actions that we have had to take this week. I want our students and teachers to be back in the classroom at the earliest possible moment. Again, I would encourage you to make your presence known at the Capitol and to communicate your thoughts and feelings to your legislators about this situation.
