BAPS Gets Feedback From Parents, Staff About What To Cut

Broken Arrow Public Schools released a list of possible cuts generated from a survey of parents and staff. The district said it has to trim about 12 percent of spending.

The district cautioned the survey results are not cuts yet, or the exact order they'll be considered.

If they are, administrative cuts will come first, class sizes will grow and riding the bus will come with a $50 fee.

Broken Arrow Public Schools expects to take a cut of $5.7 million next year - after a midyear cut this year of $1.5 million.

The district put out a laundry list for parents to prioritize where the cuts should start, and the superintendent, Jarod Mendenhall, said it's a starting point.

"This is our baseline. This our review, our guideline to look at what are the priorities of our community," he said.

The district survey was a list of 15 possible cuts; the results show parents want savings outside the classroom first, but the reality is the goal can't be reached without raising class sizes.

Adding one student per class would save $1 million on teachers.

“It affects a lot of people and a lot of jobs, and not just our children, but the people who work for the school district too,” one woman said.

The district is already moving away from textbooks, which are also on the list, but parents also supported cutting back on bus service and charging a fee.

Mendenhall said, “Reducing transportation costs, $240,000 was number seven, and the $50 transportation fee, and this is interesting, we didn't know how the community would react, but it was ranked number eight.

Parents put raising class sizes by two students at the very bottom of the list.

The district said the survey will help guide decisions but nothing on the list is final.

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Survey Ranking Results:

BAPS Community Survey: