Last Day Of School For Tulsa Public Schools

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- Wednesday is the final day of classes for students at Tulsa Public Schools. With cuts in financial aid from the state of Oklahoma, it could also be the last day for hundreds of Tulsa Public School teachers.

The state's second largest school district, Tulsa Public Schools gave out non-renewal notices to 286 teachers for next year, in anticipation of drastic cuts to the education budget.

Oklahoma Department of Education officials say every school district in the state is working with an 8.9 percent cut to their budgets. That comes to about $228 million, which is much higher than state lawmakers claim.

In fact, State School Superintendent Sandy Garrett says it's the most devastating cut education has ever taken in Oklahoma.

The non-renewal notices at TPS were mostly for first-year teachers.

5/14/2010 Related story: Tulsa Teacher Calls Non-Renewal Notice 'Heartbreaking'

For teachers staying in the classroom, Governor Brad Henry is providing incentives for academic growth and student leadership.

It could be the middle of July before Tulsa Public Schools knows whether or not it can re-hire any of the teachers that were given non-renewal notices.