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Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association recognizes the serious financial challenges facing Tulsa Public Schools and understands that those challenges require difficult decisions. In July, the Board of Education directed the superintendent to develop a plan to address the district’s projected budget shortfall for the 2027-28 school year. As part of that work, several schools, including schools serving some of Tulsa’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, were presented at Monday night's board meeting for possible closure.
We also recognize that some school consolidation may make sense. However, closing a neighborhood school is one of the most consequential decisions a district can make. Before Tulsa asks students, families and educators to carry that burden, we believe the community deserves clear answers about the savings these closures will actually produce, the services students will receive and what other options have been exhausted.
TCTA President LeeAnne Jimenez has serious concerns: "I question whether the cost of promised additional services at consolidated sites has been fully accounted for when calculating projected savings."
The Baker Tilly report identified potential savings from eliminating school-level administrative and operational costs, including principals, office staff, librarians, custodial services, utilities, maintenance and security. At the same time, the district has said consolidated schools will offer students increased services.
Those two promises need to be reconciled.
If a receiving school adds teachers, administrators or other staff to provide those services, some projected personnel savings will be reduced. If previously unused portions of buildings are reopened to accommodate more students, utilities, custodial and maintenance costs could increase. TCTA believes families and employees deserve to see those costs reflected in the district’s projections.
We also have questions about staffing. District leadership has said some savings will come through attrition and the non-reemployment of educators who have not completed the certification process. If consolidation is intended to give students greater opportunities and services, TCTA wants to know how those opportunities will be delivered with fewer educators.
That concern is especially important as the district considers larger class sizes. During a Sept. 9 community information session, a TCTA member asked Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson what research supported increased class sizes at consolidated schools. TCTA did not hear specific research cited in response.
These questions matter because school closures were not the only cost-saving measure presented to the district.
Baker Tilly also recommended reductions in central-office staffing, contracts and operational spending. While TPS has taken some steps in those areas, including eliminating administrative positions, TCTA believes the Board should provide the public with a clear accounting of the savings produced by those changes, the cost of positions subsequently created or filled, and why additional reductions at the administrative level are or are not feasible before approving school closures.
The process matters, too. Families and employees deserve meaningful involvement before decisions are made that could reshape their neighborhoods. Community engagement cannot simply be an opportunity to react after the most important choices have already been narrowed.
Tulsa voters also approved a $609 million bond package this spring. We understand that bond dollars and general operating funds cannot be used interchangeably. But capital improvements are planned throughout the district, including at schools now being considered for closure. Taxpayers deserve transparency about what happens to those investments if a school closes and what the district intends to do with any property it no longer uses.
TCTA Vice President Craig Hoxie said that question is personal to him.
“I voted to pay my taxes to improve buildings and outcomes for future students of Tulsa Public Schools, including my grandchild. I didn’t vote to improve buildings that we turn around and sell below their value to billionaire-funded philanthropic organizations and charter schools that don’t accept all students.”
For TCTA, our first responsibility throughout this process will be to our members and the students they serve.
“While we cannot stop the process, TCTA will be there for our members every step of the way,” Jimenez said. “We have a negotiated agreement for a reason, and when issues such as this come up, there is a process outlined in the agreement that must be followed.”
TCTA understands the financial reality facing Tulsa Public Schools. We understand that maintaining every building indefinitely may not be financially responsible and that consolidation could benefit students in some areas of our city.
But recognizing that reality does not require accepting every recommendation without scrutiny.
Closing a school affects far more than a district balance sheet. It affects where children spend their days, where educators build their careers and where families have built relationships over generations. These decisions deserve the highest level of transparency, community involvement and care.
TCTA calls on the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education to carefully examine the projected savings, staffing consequences, promised services, administrative spending, bond investments and community impact of each proposed closure before approving a final plan.
Our students, educators and neighborhoods deserve nothing less.
We know that there will be many unanswered questions and concerns after hearing about the recommendations from Dr. Johnson. As always, please contact LeeAnne and Craig through their emails found at tulsateachers.org or feel free to voice your questions/concerns using the following Google Form:
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