The recent Adair County election approved of Dahlonegah Public Schools annexing Greasy Public School.

The Greasy site will house fifth- through eighth-grade students, and the Dahlonegah campus will be for fourth grade and below. The central office will remain at the Dahlonegah site.

Principals have been hired for both sites. Steven Cain will be at the elementary and Clayton Yeager at the middle school.

Mary Alice Fletcher has been working at Greasy School part time for a couple of years, and was asked to step in as interim superintendent until after the 10-day waiting period for the election to be certified.

Originally the election was scheduled for April 7, but due to COVID-19, it wasn’t held.

It was a difficult decision Fletcher said, but it didn’t make sense for the school to continue.

“We did what was best for the kids, so they could get the services they deserve,” said Fletcher.

Greasy’s enrollment had dropped since the fire a couple of years ago.

“Since the fire, it’s been pure chaos. But that’s what happens when you have a disaster,” she said.

Parents had been taking their kids to other schools, and they just didn’t come back, she said.

The school has been here a long time, and will go on in some capacity, according to Fletcher. 

Dahlonegah will have two sites and Jeff LImore is working on that.

She’s been meeting with a transition team daily, and plans to stay on in some part-time capacity.

“I love this community and want what’s best for them,” she said.

Dahlonegah Superintendent Jeff Limore is in agreement with Fletcher as to his commitment to the community. He is beginning his 22nd year at the school as superintendent.

“Dahlonegah has been a wonderful place to serve,” said Limore. “We have developed a climate of mutual respect between the parents and our faculty and staff. We have a loving and caring atmosphere here at Dahlonegah.”

His mother was a student at Dahlonegah, and Greasy holds a dear place in his heart.

“Therefore, I have a sense of pride in being able to serve the community where she grew put,” he said. “Attending school there [Greasy] as a child was a joy for me. Greasy is where I learned discipline and hard work will open up a world of opportunities.”

He’s looking forward to school starting and has been working to be sure both campus facilities are ready to go.

“The Greasy campus gives us double the space basically,” said Limore.

Work at the middle school campus includes extensive plumbing updates, painting the building, replacing parking lot lights and readying the fire suppression system for safety.

“We’re making plans to start and encourage people to pick up a packet if they haven’t already,” said Limore.