Several area school districts are teetering on the edge of financial disaster, said State Superintendent of Schools Sandy Garrett.

Boynton-Moton Schools in western Muskogee County, with about 90 students, is among the struggling schools, but is not at the top of the list, Garrett said.

“There are many, many districts that are having huge financial situations,” she said.

One is Keota in Haskell County. They likely will end this school year with a deficit that will be paid by placing a special assessment on property owners in the district, Garrett said.

Keota Schools have grades kindergarten through 12, and in 2006 showed 195 students enrolled.

Greasy School in Adair County likely won’t have enough money to make payroll in a few months, she said.

That district has kindergarten through eighth grades, with 93 students in 2006.

A state audit released in June showed Greasy School’s superintendent was overpaid in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. The district has a new superintendent, but it may be too late to save the school.

Peavine and Cave Springs schools, also in Adair County, also face severe financial problems, Garrett said.

Lost City School near Hulbert and Marble City School near Sallisaw also faced problems with their superintendents’ pay. Lost City Schools closed at the end of the last school year when it lost its accreditation.

Lost City Schools started the 2006 school year with an enrollment of 56; Marble City with 156, according to state reports.

Garrett said while it’s difficult for schools to stay open with low enrollment, state law prohibits the Department of Education closing a school because it does not have enough students.

However, declining enrollment leads to lower funding levels, making it more and more difficult for small districts to survive, Garrett said.

Leonard Schools in Tulsa County is in the process of consolidating with Bixby Schools. Leonard’s current enrollment is 18 students.

Eldorado and Olustee schools in Jackson County near Altus in southwestern Oklahoma also are moving toward consolidation, she said.

Boley schools in Okfuskee County in central Oklahoma has only 36 students in its elementary school and is on the verge of closing, she said.

“Demographics change,” Garrett said. “We have some districts that are booming in numbers. People are moving around.”

She said the state’s panhandle area is seeing a huge decline in the number of students.

Dr. James Christian, interim superintendent at Boynton-Moton School, says he believes the declining enrollment there can be turned around.

“If we do the kind of job we should be doing here, ... You remember the days when Hilldale was just an elementary school, when Oktaha didn’t have 700 students — this school can do the same,” Christian said.The school accepts transfer students from other districts and already has received some who have decided they didn’t want to attend classes in their home district and have enrolled at Boynton-Moton instead.

Garrett said the school is becoming an alternative school.

“This may be their last chance (to grow enrollment for more funding,)” she said.

Even with higher numbers, the future of the school may depend on student performance, Garrett said.

“This year’s ninth graders have to pass four out of seven end-of-course tests before they can get a diploma in four years,” she said. “That means you have to offer all seven courses.”

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