Generous Donation Helps Keep Claremore Classes Small

School districts across Oklahoma are knee-deep in budget cuts, but one Green Country district has one less thing to worry about next school year thanks to a generous Claremore family.

The donation of $375,000 means all of Claremore's kindergarten through third-grade classrooms will stay the same size next year, despite the budget cuts.

Kelly Shuck is the principal of Catalayah Elementary. With all the talk about cutting costs, she said many Claremore teachers were worried they'd have to take on more students next year.

"They can do without a lot of resources, but when you have more kids in the classroom, education isn't going to be the same,” Shuck said.

Then, came the announcement that Frank and Ludmila Robson donated nearly $400,000 to keep kindergarten, first, second and third-grade classes small - between 20 and 24 students each.

The couple is part of the Walton family and gives generously to the Claremore and Oklahoma community.

It's a weight off of many teachers' shoulders.

Shuck said, "They are so excited just to know that their classes will be protected, number-wise, at such an early development."

Classroom sizes would have been 27 or 28 kids. But now, Catalayah will be able to keep all twelve K-through-third teachers, and even fill a vacant teaching position.

"We are just so blessed to have someone in the community that's willing to put up money to help us keep class sizes small," the principal said.

In the past, the Robsons donated a Performing Arts Center and a state-of-the-art greenhouse to the schools as well.