Renegar Joins Small District Administrators Calling to End School Consolidation Efforts

By Jason Doyle Oden

Rep. Brian Renegar is joined by several small school district administrators pushing back against calls for school consolidation.

Renegar is critical of two Republican proposals for consolidation programs. One encourages merging administrative and support services among school districts with fewer than 500 students, while the other calls for outright consolidation of multiple school districts.

“A lot more than money is at stake if the GOP’s proposals are approved,” Renegar said. “Without a doubt, students and their communities will suffer the consequences.”

One administrator is concerned that the move to centralize administration and support for several districts would thin out an already thin work force.

“At a small school, job descriptions are much more than what is written into a contract,” said Robert Florenzano, superintendent of Crowder Public Schools. “Everyone steps up and takes on extra duties without extra-duty pay.”

Other district administrators provide similar examples from their districts, including the Frink-Chambers Public School superintendent Richard Peckio.

“I am a licensed mechanical contractor, so I do all of the heat and air, refrigeration and mechanical work” at the school. “I also assist with all of the plumbing repair that is in the realm of daily maintenance.”

Renegar is critical of the Republican efforts.

“Republicans, who have been pushing ‘school choice’ in the Legislature for years, are now trying to take away choice in rural areas,” Renegar said. “What they propose would eliminate options for families, their children and teachers by forcing consolidation.”


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  1. Eddie Huff, 29 January, 2016

    Come on this is all BS. The real issue is the salaries at the top of the food chain ,-the superintendents. They want to diver tour attention from that with the BS talk of hurting small districts that are already strained. If we consolidate we can hire more lower level actual WORKERS to do the stuff that needs to be done daily PLUS increase teacher salaries.

  2. castor, 29 January, 2016

    Missed my chance: I wanted to play “Hearts & Flowers” while I read this article, but I couldn’t find my violin. Sad. But I wouldn’t be sad if I was the guy at Frink-Chalmers, who makes around $80,000 per year. If you cut his pay to $50,000, he’d still be well off, and you could hire a lot of HVAC repairmen and plumbers for less than the balance.
    Oh, and isn’t it touching how much concern these guys are suddenly showing for school choice? Now, where DID I put that violin?

  3. Marsha, 31 January, 2016

    NO ONE MAKES THAT AT FRINK CHAMBERS GET REAL- THAT WOULD NEED TO BE PROVEN IN WRITING TO ME- ALSO FRINK IS ONE OF THE BEST SCHOOLS IN PITTSBURG COUNTY

  4. Education in Oklahoma – Page 10, 29 January, 2016

    […] Renegar Joins Small District Administrators Calling to End School Consolidation Efforts | The McCarv… […]

  5. Rick, 31 January, 2016

    I don’t think the state forcing local schools to consolidate is the answer. I worry about eliminating local superintendents and school boards, replacing them with more country and state control. Personally, I want more local control of education funds and how those funds are spent. If the locally elected school board thinks their super is worth the money, let them pay him better. If they want to pay their teachers better, let local school boards make that choice. If a local school needs more funding, let the school lobby for it with their own local citizens. If we want better government, we need more local government.

  6. castor, 31 January, 2016

    Well, I DO stand corrected. I was citing slightly old data on the Frink-Chambers superintendent salary when I stated he was making around $80,000. The CURRENT salary totals $102,337, including fringe benefits and incorporating $12,000 for being principal too. That’s according a January 26, 2016 post on the Oklahoma State Department of Education website – please check it yourself. But, hey, he may be a heck of a heat and air man.

  7. castor, 01 February, 2016

    By the way, I’m not trying to pick on Frink-Chambers. The Crowder superintendent, also quoted in this article, gets $92,323, which is a bargain compared to the Hartshorne superintendent, who gets $121,260, the Canadian superintendent at $117,176, and the Haileyville guy who gets $112,363. You think if maybe one guy could stretch himself to cover 2 or 3 of those little schools, the savings could be used to give the TEACHERS a little more? Just askin’.

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