Students return to new-look Burrell School District

For many students in the Burrell School District, Tuesday wasn’t just the first day of a new school year.

Many were starting in a new building after the closure of Stewart Elementary School at the end of the last school year.

For the first time in its history, Burrell is operating just three buildings: Bon Air Elementary, Charles A. Huston Middle and Burrell High schools.

Last year’s fourth and fifth graders at Stewart now are attending Huston; the third-grade class will spend another year at Bon Air.

The school board in October closed Stewart because of declining enrollment, costly infrastructure upgrades and to focus resources on three buildings instead of four.

Tuesday marked the first time for Bon Air to hold students from kindergarten through fourth grade and Huston to house grades five through eight. Burrell High School still has students from ninth through 12th grades.

Stewart previously held all of the district’s fourth and fifth grade classes.

Fourth grade student Gretchen Oberlin, 9, said she liked being able to remain at Bon Air for another year and welcomed the younger students.

“I like being in the building,” Gretchen said. “I’m excited about having a new teacher and having some new kids in my class.”

Students “get to experience fun with learning,” at Bon Air, Gretchen said. “The teachers are amazing and helpful.”

Numerous “task force” meetings were held with teachers and parents over the past year on how to best reconfigure and lay out schedules at the buildings.

Bon Air Principal Amy Lenart said the fourth graders now at Bon Air will make great mentors to the younger students.

“I’m excited,” she said. “It takes me back to my old K-5 days.”

Huston Principal Travis Welch also reported a good first day at his building.

“We created an adapted first-day schedule to separate each grade level into groups after eating breakfast upon arrival,” he said. “They were guided from the gym and auditorium by grade-level teachers who took them to their lockers across the building. This extra hour hopefully helped ease some nerves and reassured students that we are going through this change together.”

While the first day went well, there’s still much more work for the district in its reconfiguration plans.

The school board is juggling millions of dollars in renovation projects at Bon Air and the high school. In August, directors approved an $8 million heating and cooling project for the high school. Construction is scheduled to be complete next August.

Burrell High School doesn’t have air conditioning. Its heating and ventilation system is from 1964.

The board is also rebidding for an HVAC project and kitchen expansion at Bon Air after rejecting bids for those projects last month. Those bids came in about $3.6 million over budget.

District officials have said previously that, in order to prepare and put out the number of meals needed in the time required, Bon Air’s kitchen needs additional space and equipment. An expansion would also allow more room for serving lines so students have enough time to eat.

The fate of the Stewart property still hasn’t been announced. The school district’s plan is to sell the property to a buyer who ultimately would increase Lower Burrell’s tax base.