Superintendent of Schools Dr. Cathy Walker addressed the gathering at Newcastle’s Community room last week on Tuesday to talk about the growth and the resulting needs it creates for a school system.
Walker was in attendance to provide this year’s State of Newcastle Schools address. The annual luncheon, sponsored by Sooner State Bank, provides a venue for Newcastle-area residents and Chamber of Commerce members to hear how things are going at the public school system.
Walker said Newcastle Schools is now firmly in Class 5A with 2,596 total students, served by 767 staff members. She said the school is also well into the construction of projects and purchases from the $77,025,000 bond issue passed by district voters in August 2022.
STATE OFTHE SCHOOL: NPS had 190 seniors last year with 76 NHS members
She also said the high school graduated 190 seniors last year, had five valedictorians, and had 76 National Honor Society members. Seniors brought in $1,218,698 in scholarships. The high school also had athletes and teams who went to State “in about all of our activities last year,” she said.
Walker noted that the Newcastle Education Foundation had also started back up. They gave a $1,000-plus grant to educators the week before for projects that will benefit Newcastle students at the various school sites.
Bond issue construction that is underway includes the “flagship project,” as Walker stated, as Newcastle residents can see the two story structure rising from the NHS campus. She said there is a new drive and parking lot in front of the structure, and a new cafeteria is part of the construction. Inside that facility will be collages of photos from previous Newcastle school yearbooks.
The high school includes a chemistry room with state-of-the-art chemistry lab, which provides an experience just as students will have when they go to college. There’s also a Family and Consumer Sciences room, with a new kitchen and classroom areas.
Completed bond issue projects include air conditioning at the high school gymnasium, elementary site playgrounds and safety features, and a road behind the elementary school, a middle school classroom addition, and new band uniforms and instruments.
Projects still coming from the 2022 bond issue proceeds are safety and security measures including weapons detection and safety film, an intercom system, a radio system, and a third school resource officer. Walker said she was very pleased with the school’s partnership with Newcastle Police Department. There also will be renovations at the high school baseball and softball fields.
Walker said the bond issue will pay off in 2029, which is two years earlier than projected because of the conservative estimates used during the 2022 bond issue’s planning. The growth experienced by the NPS district provides an opportunity for another bond issue, which will be in front of voters November 18. The school system is asking for $10.8 million that will not raise millage rates for area property owners, Walker said. In fact, she said it is also projected to pay off at the same time the 2022 bond issues pay off in 2029.
A successful November bond issue this year would set up the school district for a $100 million bond in 2029 without any increases in the millage rates, according to Walker. Many other school systems in Oklahoma are successfully stacking bond issues like this in order to address their growing districts’ needs.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Newcastle Pacer will have more on the State of the School in a story in the October 23 issue. It focuses on the proposed $10.8 million bond issue.)
