The Tulsa Public Schools superintendent is now charged with cutting $12 million from the district’s operational deficit by June 2028. Her plan to do so is due in October.
The district board unanimously passed a resolution Monday requiring Superintendent Ebony Johnson to present her recommendations for improving the district’s financial health by its Oct. 19 meeting. Cost-saving measures should begin in January, and the reduction be completed by the following school year’s end.
“The board recognizes that responsible fiscal governance requires difficult choices when expenditures and recurring revenues are structurally misaligned,” reads the resolution.
The district’s finances have already spurred layoffs in its central office and reductions to spending — but the district’s deficit remains. A third-party report delivered to TPS leadership in March recommended a five-phase reduction strategy that included closing schools, though TPS has not officially outlined any plans to do so.
The board’s Monday resolution requires Johnson to work with administrators and create “thoughtful recommendations that strengthen both the district’s financial position and its ability to deliver improved outcomes for Tulsa students.”
The draft resolution was not included in the district’s board agenda prior to the seven-hour special meeting where board members finalized the language and voted to approve it. It has not been posted publicly by the district. The Flyer requested the final resolution document immediately following Monday’s meeting but has yet to receive it.
Not everyone will love everything the district may end up having to do, said board member Stacey Woolley Monday.
“If every single morning we wake up and we’re trying to think about what’s best for our students in order to drive this change, and it ends up that kids who don’t have every program in their school right now end up having more programs and assistants and things like that, then we’re doing what’s best for kids,” she said.
The pain point sits with the district’s fund balance, an essential carry-over fund it uses to cover expenses throughout the year.
As of June, the district expected a $13 million shortfall to this fund this year and next. If the fund balance 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.
Any recommendation Johnson presents must include identification of affected departments, schools, programs, staffing, operations or services, per the board’s resolution.
It should also include an overview of work by the district’s “Effectiveness Through Efficiency” committee, a group of district and community members that met throughout the summer as one of TPS’ strategic planning groups.
The decision was made in the last hour of the board’s all-day meeting at Bike Club’s headquarters in west Tulsa. Board member Connie Dodson left before the final vote.
The next TPS board meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Aug. 3.
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