Burns Sci-Tech Charter School in Oak Hill welcomes students for first time after closing of Burns Elementary two years ago

Gary BittleNSBNews.net photos by Henry Frederick / Gary Bittle, chairman of the Burns Science and Technology Charter School in Oak Hill is all smiles on the first day of school Monday morning as the buses pull in for the first time and Principal Jan McKee greets children and their parents.

OAK HILL -- When Oak Hill City Commissioner Kathy Bittle was a little girl, she attended the Burns Elementary School. 

The school had been closed two years ago because of shrinking enrollments district-wide across Volusia County. But since then, Bittle, her husband, Gary, and countless other volunteers got organized. The school has begun anew as the Burns Science and Technology Charter School or as Burns Sci-Tech for short.

Now the school is home to the Bittles' two daughters, 10-year-old Katlyn, a fifth grader, and 8-year-old Kaylee, a third grader. Gary Bittle, former Oak Hill vice mayor, is chairman of the board at Burns Sci-Tech. Besides her seat on the city commission, Kathy Bittle serves on the Oak Hill Community Trust.