Tulsa Public Schools unveiled its preliminary 2026-27 budget Monday night, but in an oversight the district failed to account for preschoolers.
Following the meeting, district spokesman Kyle Boone contacted reporters in attendance to correct the error.
The presentation included an estimated decrease of more than 2,200 students in the next school year — nearly double last year’s loss — resulting in a $3 million decrease per student in state funding, according to TPS.
When correcting the error, Boone said the likely decrease is closer to 500 students, but he could not provide an updated estimate of state funding as of Tuesday morning. The district is expecting 32,000 students next year.
State law requires Oklahoma public school districts to have a board-approved budget by the beginning of each fiscal year, starting July 1.
Enrollment numbers aside, TPS expects nearly $364 million in general fund expenses next year and $424 million in revenue, which makes up more than half of its budget and covers core costs like staffing. Overall, the district expects revenue to decrease around $18 million, pending enrollment updates.
While the district likely won’t see the dramatic decrease in students it first shared, TPS is facing further statewide enrollment dips in the coming years, according to Chief Financial Officer Kristin Stephens.
“This is an issue across the state and across the nation, everyone’s seeing declining enrollment,” Stephens said. “It’s based on birth rates and graduation rates, and I don’t anticipate that we’ll see an uptick in enrollment in the near future.”
Despite cost-cutting efforts this fiscal year, TPS expects a final shortfall of around $13 million — a figure less than its original estimate. The district is “on a mission” to protect its fund balance, said Stephens.
The fund balance is an essential carry-over pool of money TPS uses to cover essential costs before revenue from property taxes and federal reimbursement roll in. If it drops below $48 million, the district cannot cover the expenses necessary to operate. With its current level of spending, that’s expected to happen as soon as 2028.
Exactly how that fund stands has been a moving target in the past several months.
In February, the expected shortfall was around $17 million. By early May, Stephens told the board to expect $10 million to $15 million. Just a few weeks later, interim CFO Dwayne Thompson, who supports Stephens at TPS during her work with the Oklahoma State Department of Education, said it could be as low as $8.5 million.
“I think $13 (million) is probably a pretty good projection at the moment,” Stephens said to the Flyer. “I think Mr. Thompson is more optimistic than me, and I’m slightly more concerned about it, I’ll just say that.”
In the next fiscal year, the district expects it will need to pull the same amount from the fund balance, Stephens said, leaving it around $60 million by the end of fiscal year 2027.
“I can’t currently say that we will not have to continue reductions — I’m not going to take my foot off the gas of reductions,” Stephens said.
Board member Stacey Woolley pressed for a more public discussion of the budget and its implications for future reductions, specifically those from a third-party firm hired to complete a staffing analysis in March.
The firm’s report has guided cuts to district central office staffing and explicitly recommends school closures and consolidations, as first reported Monday morning by the Tulsa Flyer. TPS has already cut 89 positions and considered laying off special education staff before the school board rejected that proposal in May.
“I think an in-depth conversation with all of us would be really helpful for all of us,” Woolley said. “And I know it’s going to be some really hard conversation, but I think we’re up for it.”
The district’s fiscal year ends June 30. Final year-end finances should head to the board later this summer.
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