Keith Baldridge for Okmulgee School Board Ward 5

05/02/2025

I just happened by this yesterday morning. The ceiling beams were set yesterday for the storm shelter/ gym at the Westside Primary. It is exciting to me witnessing the progress for our public school. Go Dogs. Please share and get the news out there.

04/30/2025

Graduate Oklahoma is a program that is available to students of Okmulgee Elementary Public Schools. Its purpose is to help students in reading and math skills and scores. It is affective and has a surprising number of students that participate. Overall scores, since it started have increased by 180 points. It is a fantastic effort of community volunteers and the YMCA. Although there is just a short time left this school year, I believe there are also plans for a summer schedule.
This is the kind of good news we need our community to know about. Not everyone does.
If you have a child struggling or a child that you want to excel and you are not participating you need to reach out. There are people that will guide you in how to enroll and have volunteers from the community that will mentor your child.
Twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday after school for one hour and you can change a child’s life. 4:30-5:30. Just two hours per week.

04/10/2025

Today was a preview of the Okmulgee FFA plant sale for board members. They have a lot of plants available. Please come out and support one of the many successful programs available to our students. The dates are April 18 and 19 from 9:00am-2:00pm.

04/06/2025

One of the Okmulgee positives that need shared a million times. Food for kids, started by Holly Barris, provides weekend food for our children in need. Our district qualifies for school provided breakfast and lunch but Holly recognized there was a gap on the weekends.
It all started in 2008 and they have given out over 52,000 individual children food for the weekend at a cost of $850. Total per week. First Baptist heads it up with other churches also providing financial support.
The Elks Club and Lions club also give financially to the program. If you see Holly Barris or Janet Taylor, pictured please take a minute to tell them their great work is appreciated. Others help also and if I didn’t mention or recognize your organization be assured I will be going again. It is every Friday during the school year.
If you have a little extra money this is a place that you can be assured every penny you give will go straight to its intended destination.

Please share with your friends! This is good news and good news seems to be a rare commodity.

04/02/2025

I am very appreciative of everyone who came out to vote. I am excited to start this journey. We can’t change everything all at once but we can’t do anything if we don’t ever start. 1st step accomplished.

04/01/2025

Please remember that tomorrow is Election Day. We have the opportunity to make a change starting tomorrow.

03/31/2025

If I were to list my husband Keith’s greatest quality, it would be his compassion. He genuinely cares about people.

Jude 22 says ‘some have compassion, making a difference.’ I believe most people have compassion but not all use their compassion as a motivator to make a difference.

Keith has the type of compassion that causes him to try to make a difference. This is one of the reasons he is running for Okmulgee School Board. He cares about the students and their teachers. He wants them to have the best education possible in order to compete in their world. This is his only agenda in running for the school board. Okmulgee students deserve the best!

Tuesday, April 1st is Election Day. Please exercise your privilege and responsibility to vote. When you vote, consider voting for Keith Baldridge for Okmulgee School Board Ward 5.
I believe he will make a difference. If you agree, please share with your friends!

Cathy Baldridge

03/27/2025

Last night there was a special board meeting to vote on the only candidate who submitted a letter of intent for the recently vacated board position, Rod Weimer. He was rejected by a vote of two against, one abstention, and one member was not present.

Rod is highly qualified for the position. A professional with 16 years behind him on the same school board. He obviously has a heart for our school system.

Now we will be required to have a special election at a cost of $6,000, $311,000 for the buyout of the superintendents contract and the $5,200-$5,500 per student for transfers out, which is approximately $260,000 from the state.

When I attended the virtual introduction to ‘So You Want to be a School Board Member’, they strongly advised the you should not make campaign promises. I will adhear to that policy with one exception. I will not obstain vote unless the vote is a direct conflict of interest to my personal interests. My votes will be yes or no, up or down. Okmulgee parents, staff, voters and students need to understand how you represent them.

Early voting is taking place today and tomorrow. You need to know this information before you vote.

Please share with your friends and neighbors!

03/21/2025

Early voting begins March 27 and 28.

April 1, 2025 election - Important Dates and Deadlines

The April election will be a multi-district election with 11 entities having an election.

State Senate District 8 Republican Primary Runoff—The two candidates with the highest number of votes from the March 4 election will advance to the April 1 runoff election.

County Commissioner District 1 General—Ernie Ferreira REP, Barbarbra Cooks DEM, Chip Smalley IND

Beggs Public Schools Office 5—Melanie Harvey, Jessie Spring

Checotah Public Schools Office 5—Christie Bobo, Mickey Medley

City of Beggs Mayor—Gary Teurman, Roger Dale Merrill

City of Henryetta Councilmember at Large—Shawn Buzan, Tristan Demmitt

City of Henryetta Councilmember Ward 4—Buck Sheward, Jennifer Munholland

City of Morris Councilmember Ward 2—Matt Sharp, Sonny Lamb

Haskell Public Schools Office 5—Colton Schooley, David W. Magee

Indian Capital Tech Center Office 5—Ginger Knight, Andrew Theodore

Okmulgee Public Schools Office 5—Krystal Bohannon, Leslie Keith Baldridge

Weleetka Public Schools Office 5—Linda Moore, Shawn Ray Brownlee

Weleetka Public Schools—Proposition 1 and Proposition 2

03/21/2025

So it appears we will either have no U.S. Department of Education or a greatly reduced influence nationally. The responsibility will be exported to individual states and to local school boards. Much more will be required than ever before.

The state of education in America overall is dismal and Oklahoma ranks 48 or 49 nationally. Okmulgee ranks low in the state.

Competition is fierce. Home schooling, charter schools, private schools and on line learning are all competing for our students - not to mention surrounding county schools. I feel we cannot continue business as usual.

Locally, we have many civic organizations willing to support our public schools and they have been giving their support for many years. We need their support and input. The Chamber of Commerce, Mainstreet, Rotary, Lions Club, Okmulgee City Council, Okmulgee Education and many more are more than anxious to lend their support.

We should also seek out support and encouragement from other schools that have are being successful in their endeavors. We are certainly not the only school fighting to retain our enrollment numbers.

Oklahoma State Department of Education provides training but I think we should go beyond those trainings. We can have facilitators come to us and advise on what they have done to be successful. It is a lot more work but helping our students and teachers prepare our children for the future should be a priority for all of us.

Our path forward needs to be change for we cannot continue doing the same thing expecting change.

If you support change, I ask for your vote.

Please share with your friends and neighbors!