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  "description": "The two SHS juniors will head to Washington, D.C., in July; the board also certified Dillin's re-election and pushed forward on Phase 1 athletic construction",
  "path": "/shs-students-claim-fccla-state-titles-board-reorganizes-for-big-year/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-16T21:55:14.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.thestillwegian.news",
  "tags": [
    "See How Local Stacks Up",
    "Stillwater is reading.\nAre they reading about you?\nNative advertising from $100/week"
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  "textContent": "Two Stillwater High School students claimed state championships at the largest Family, Career and Community Leaders of America competition in Oklahoma history Tuesday, kicking off a school board meeting that also reorganized district leadership and marked new milestones on the new high school campus.\n\nLaura Bennett and Emma Cantu claimed state championships at the largest Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) competition in Oklahoma history, the Stillwater Board of Education recognized Tuesday.\n\nThe wins cap a standout year for Stillwater's family and consumer sciences program: the FCCLA chapter earned gold chapter of excellence status, a first-year teacher received a national scholarship, and both students will now represent Oklahoma at the national competition in Washington, D.C., in July.\n\nThe two Stillwater High School juniors competed in the FCCLA STAR Events program — Students Taking Action with Recognition — against a field of more than 1,100 students statewide, the biggest state FCCLA competition on record.\n\nBennett won the Sustainability Challenge event for a project centered on cleaning up the Kameoka Trail. Through peer presentations, she educated students about how litter affects local wildlife and organized a cleanup effort involving students, staff, and community members along the trail and Boomer Creek.\n\nPAID ADVERTISEMENT\n\n****Stillwater Building Center**** carries multiple Andersen window lines — and you can see them in person before you buy. Free estimates, local installers, and prices that may surprise you.\n\n\n                            See How Local Stacks Up\n                        \n\n\"This project not only contributed to the beauty of that trail, but addressed the environmental issues for the animals and plant life around Kameoka and Boomer Creek,\" family and consumer sciences teacher Jody Webber said.\n\nCantu took first in the Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation category with a business plan for a cat café addressing animal shelter overcrowding and community mental health. The project included original research, a customer service strategy, and a marketing website Cantu built herself.\n\n\"Emma created a business plan for a cat cafe that would address concerns for full animal shelters and the adoption of those animals, and — always thinking of mental health — provide a positive and relaxing environment for community members to come in and decompress and play with some pets while maybe taking them home,\" Webber said.\n\nThe two titles come from a record-setting field.\n\n\"It's really exciting this year, especially after the pandemic in the last six years, that this was the largest state competition in Oklahoma FCCLA history,\" Webber said.\n\nBennett and Cantu will compete at nationals July 6-11 in Washington, D.C. Bennett serves as North Ford District Officer and Stillwater High School FCCLA Vice President of State and National Programs. Cantu serves as the chapter's Vice President of Membership and Records. First-year teacher Kenzlee Camp received the Wanda Homa Memorial Advisor Scholarship for Outstanding Leadership in Community Service.\n\n__Demolition of the City Gym and West Gym at Stillwater High School progresses Thursday, April 16, 2026. From left: the City Gym site, now cleared to its slab, with Pioneer Stadium visible in the background; rubble from the City Gym amid active demolition; and the existing track facility alongside the demolition site. Assistant Superintendent of Operations Bo Gamble told the board April 14 both structures are expected to be fully cleared by the end of April. – Photos by Chris Peters__\n\n## Farewell tours set for May 23 at current Stillwater High School\n\nThree farewell tours of the current Stillwater High School building are scheduled for Saturday, May 23 — the day after graduation — at 11 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m. Superintendent Tyler Bridges said he expects a significant turnout.\n\nCommemorative bricks from both the current high school and the City Gym will be sold as a fundraiser.\n\n\"I'm keeping a couple of pallets of bricks from both the current high school when it starts to go down and also the city gym, working with Dearingers to get a little plate that can be put on those,\" Bridges said.\n\n## Dillin sworn in, Washington elected board president\n\nTuesday's meeting also saw the board certify last week's Ward 1 election results and reorganize its leadership for the coming year.\n\nRachel Dillin was sworn in to another term after winning her April 7 race by a margin of more than three to one, defeating challenger Nathan Brubaker 1,239 to 406, according to the official Payne County Election Board certification. Minutes later, the board re-elected Dillin vice president in a 5-0 vote.\n\nRachel Dillin takes the oath of office during the Stillwater Board of Education regular meeting Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at the Stillwater Public Schools Administration Building. Dillin won her April 7 re-election bid, defeating challenger Nathan Brubaker 1,239 to 406, and was subsequently re-elected vice president of the board. – Photo by Chris Peters\n\n\"I've appreciated being the vice president and I've had lots of great conversations with the community during my campaign and have heard the kind of things that Stillwater wants,\" Dillin said.\n\nThe reorganization also elevated Dr. Gay Washington to board president, replacing outgoing president Roberta Douglas, who led the district through its superintendent search and the early stages of the new high school project. Washington was nominated by board member Dr. Clyde Wilson Jr. and approved unanimously.\n\nBoard member Dr. Marshall Baker made the case for Washington's selection, citing the year ahead as his reason.\n\n\"This is a year of strategic long-term planning,\" Baker said. \"I'm wondering if this isn't the year that Dr. Washington's uniquely positioned to help our district.\"\n\nBaker pointed to Washington's background as a consultant in school design and planning as the district prepares to open its new building and begin long-range strategy work under Bridges.\n\nWashington said the role wasn't something she had planned to seek that evening.\n\n\"It's a big, big position,\" she said. \"But I do understand it's a big year. So if that's yes, I'd be happy to do it.\"\n\nDr. Gay Washington reviews materials during the Stillwater Board of Education regular meeting Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at the Stillwater Public Schools Administration Building, 314 S. Lewis St. The board unanimously elected Washington president at the meeting. – Photo by Chris Peters\n\nOutgoing president Douglas thanked her colleagues as she handed off the gavel.\n\n\"I learned a lot. We all learned a lot,\" Douglas said. \"It was a great experience and I just appreciate the privilege to be able to serve this way.\"\n\nThe board also voted 5-0 to authorize Washington to designate a member as executive session minutes clerk; she named Baker to continue in that role.\n\nAdvertise with The Stillwegian \nStillwater is reading.\nAre they reading about you?\nNative advertising from $100/week\n\n\n\n## New high school nears occupancy; athletics demolition begins\n\nBoth construction projects advanced significantly this week as Assistant Superintendent of Operations Bo Gamble presented drone photos of the new campus alongside updates from the demolition site next door.\n\nPunch-list walkthroughs for all three areas of the new high school are complete, with contractors addressing flagged items. Furniture, fixtures, and equipment orders are placed, with deliveries expected to begin in mid-May. Gamble said the pace of the project prompted the district to move its owner-architect-contractor meetings to a biweekly schedule.\n\n\"We have changed our OAC meetings to biweekly now with the high school wrapping up — in preparation for getting a certificate of occupancy, beginning to move in, and managing that,\" he said.\n\nThe gymnasium bleachers are installed, the student center is being fitted with a large-format video display, and a second-floor outdoor patio off the media center is nearly finished.\n\n__Construction crews put finishing touches on the new Stillwater High School in photos taken Thursday, April 16, 2026. The gallery shows the student center's large-format LED display under installation, a chemistry lab with large windows and black lab benches, the P.E. gymnasium, a greenhouse under construction along the building's exterior, and the library. The building is working toward a certificate of occupancy ahead of the 2026-27 school year. – Photos by Chris Peters__\n\n\"It's going to be an awesome space for kids to go and work or to bring classes and teach outside,\" Gamble said. \"The building has a lot of windows, which our current building doesn't have.\"\n\nThe district is working toward a full certificate of occupancy rather than a temporary one, which would allow staff to move equipment directly from the existing building across the street without staging it elsewhere first.\n\n\"The hope is that it can just move across the street in one fell swoop, which would be fantastic,\" Bridges said.\n\nOn the athletics side, the West Gym is down to its slab, and crews began demolishing the City Gym on April 14.\n\n\"I would anticipate probably by the end of the month that will be completely gone,\" Gamble said.\n\nThe board approved Phase 1 civil and landscape work for the athletics complex, accepting a guaranteed maximum price of $4,372,781.97 from construction manager Willowbrook Inc. Bids for the main construction package — including a multi-sport facility, soccer and track facilities, and cross-country buildings — are expected to come before the board in June.\n\n📺 **Watch the meeting**",
  "title": "SHS students claim FCCLA state titles; board reorganizes for 'big year'",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-25T15:12:27.105Z"
}