TULSA, Okla. — Pryor Public Schools are one of the next districts to go back on Thursday.
Superintendent Dr. Lisa Muller spoke with 2 News ahead of the first day. She shared some exciting changes to the district as well as some challenges they've faced in getting ready for the school year.
Dr. Muller is going into her third year as the superintendent of Pryor Public Schools.
She said Pryor may be a small district, but it's a growing one.
"Our enrollment is increasing. We have just under 3,000 students," Muller said.
That's an increase of about a hundred students, and it's primarily from the natural growth in the rural community.
To serve those students, Dr. Muller is proud to report they are 100% fully staffed.
"This year has been a good hiring year for us," she explained.
While there can be some turnover of staff throughout a school year, she said Pryor usually has a good track record of keeping that rate low.
"Most of the time, we are able to have our employees who begin with us to finish out the year, but certainly, there are times that something happens, and we have to work to replace them," she said.
The challenge for them comes with substitutes.
"That's something that we definitely have a need for," Muller said. "We encourage anyone who might be interested in substituting to contact Action Group Staffing, who is who we partner with to hire substitute teachers, but that is an ongoing need that we have during the year."
The biggest focus Pryor Public Schools has had this summer is starting and completing renovations at Jefferson and Lincoln elementary schools.
Both schools have now replaced their windows and roofs. In addition to that, two hallways in Lincoln Elementary are undergoing classroom renovations.
The superintendent explained one hallway is complete, and the other will be finished during the first semester of the school year.
"That had not been renovated for quite some time, and this brings those classrooms up to where our other elementary classrooms in the district are, and those were all paid for with the most recent bond issue passed two years ago," she said.
While the classroom renovations are finishing, she said a local church is helping to house four classes until it's complete.
Although, not all the renovations focused on necessary updates. Part of it focused on making the schools even more secure.
“We are installing door access which will allow for like a key card entry at both of those buildings that we’ve renovated, and that’s a project that we will be continuing throughout the district as we move forward,” Superintendent Muller said.
She said this would be one more layer of protection in addition to the fact that all schools already have security vestibules and a Pryor PD school resource officer.
Superintendent Muller also said more projects funded by the bond are kicking off, and she's excited for what's to come.
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