The Impact Of Growing Enrollment On Broken Arrow's Education System

Since 2013, Broken Arrow has added around five hundred new students every year.

The growing number of students has put a strain on the school district, leading to overcrowded classrooms and a shortage of teachers.

"As you start putting those kiddos at school sites and in classrooms, you really see the growth in the class sizes and the amount of staff we are having to hire and the classrooms we are having to add to those sites each school year,” said Bridget Powell, Executive Director of Broken Arrow Public School’s Enrollment. 

Many sites have had to add more teachers to accommodate the number of students in each classroom, but the teacher shortage has made it tough to find people to hire.

"Our principals spent all summer hiring and then to find out at the end of August that their enrollment is so high that they have got to have another class, they are having to go back out there and hire teachers when there's just not a large pull," Powell said. 

Along with hiring more teachers, some schools have had to get creative to find space for more classrooms this school year. 

To create more space in the future, voters will decide whether or not to add classrooms to existing schools. This is one of the four proposals for a 52 million-dollar school bond.

"There is a lot of area still to grow here in Broken Arrow, so we could experience growth for years to come,” Powell said.

Voters will also consider proposals that include infrastructure and technology upgrades as well as transportation improvements.