- The Oklahoma State Board of Education denied a proposal from Dahlonegah Public Schools to add a high school, citing potential negative impacts on neighboring districts.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Balancing the aspirations of an expanding school district and a potentially existential impact on its neighbors, the Oklahoma State Board of Education denied a plan to open a fifth high school in rural Adair County.
Dahlonegah Public Schools, a K-8 district in Stilwell, had proposed opening a new high school in the coming 2026-27 academic year. The eastern Oklahoma district of 163 students is nearing completion on a new facility that would accommodate the expansion.
Neighboring districts warned they could lose students, teachers and funding to the proposed high school. State board members acknowledged approving a Dahlonegah High School could put Cave Springs Public Schools, a nearby K-12 district of 166 students, at risk of closure…