Conflict Threatens to Close Big Cabin School District

BIG CABIN - There are big problems in the Big Cabin school district.

Problems so big, in fact, that this northeast Oklahoma district's very existence is in jeopardy.

And its current status as a small, struggling school district seems to mirror dilemmas that face other rural schools in Oklahoma.

Frictions in this Craig County community have reached the flashpoint, school patrons say.

Supporters of the Big Cabin school board and board detractors have twice journeyed to the state Capitol to voice their opinions.

Another showdown is expected at an Aug. 22 meeting of the state Board of Education in Oklahoma City.

The conflict apparently centers on two questions: Is the quality of education offered good enough? And, can the district comply with strict educational mandates of House Bill 1017?

Parents here are deeply divided over the answers.

"I've lived in Big Cabin all my life, and I don't care anymore about the superintendent or the school board. All I care about are my children, and my children aren't being properly educated," said resident Sheree Loveless, who has daughters in Big Cabin's 10th, seventh and third grades.

Loveless is one of a group of Big Cabin parents who want their children to transfer to the nearby Adair, Vinita, or Chelsea school districts.

If that can't occur, a consolidation or merger is the next best step, she said.

Loveless says the district has a shortage of textbooks, has poor disciplinary procedures and lacks efficient teachers.

"I want the choice of having a school good enough to prepare my children for college. That's not happening in Big Cabin," she said.

Parent Kim Bass is a supporter of Big Cabin schools, and she believes only a vocal minority in the community want to close the 100-student district.

"This city is getting dragged through the mud. Sure, we've had problems in the past, but we need the chance to make things better," Bass said.

Those past problems include seven superintendents in the past seven years.

In the past decade, more than 100 students have transferred out of Big Cabin.

Big Cabin tops the state Department of Education's list of "low-performing" districts because of poor achieve-ment test scores in the elementary school.

Big Cabin schools currently are "accredited with warning" by the state for the 1991-1992 school year, and officals have been advised to take steps to improve those test scores.

A pitched legal battle exists between the Big Cabin board of education and parents who got transfers out of Big Cabin last school year for 30 students.

Tulsa attorneys representing the school board have filed suit in district court in Vinita to block those same transfers for the upcoming school year.

Standing in the middle of the controversy is Big Cabin superintendent Wes Watson.

"I'm hearing from parents on both sides. And it's really up to them whether this district lives or dies," Watson said.

Watson drew considerably attention with his much-publicized recruitment plan to offer free trailer lots for 40 families with school-age children.

So far, Watson has received inquiries from as far away as Florida and Oregon.

Watson admits the district has had problems, but he believes it will survive.

"I'm optimistic; we're taking good steps in the right direction," he said.

The Big Cabin superintendent said he recently conducted an informal survey of district patrons, and 215 people said they want to keep the district. That's more than the number of people who normally vote in Big Cabin school elections, he noted.

Watson said he has added new teachers, a Spanish course, computer science classes and free after-school tutoring.

The district does not have a financial problem, he said, with a budget carryover of $150,000 going into the 1991-1992 school year.

"Children can get a good education in Big Cabin," local resident Elizabeth Hudson said.

But parent Darla Meislahn has a decidedly different view. "Our kids aren't getting a good education in Big Cabin. We keep getting smaller and smaller, and are problems keep getting worse and worse," she said. BIOG: NAME:

Archive ID: 474336