TPS Board Extends Job Offer

Tulsa is closer to getting a new superintendent. On Monday night, the board voted to extend an offer to Doctor Keith Ballard. News On 6 anchor Latoya Silmon reports the school board says Doctor Keith Ballard is the right man for the job. They reached the decision pretty quickly compared to two years ago when they hired Doctor Michael Zolkoski.

This time around, there was no national search and Doctor Ballard was the only candidate being considered.

Let the negotiations begin. The Tulsa Public School board members say they're on board with Doctor Keith Ballard.

"All of us know him. The state school board's association, which he's been a director for eight or nine years, trains school boards. And he's done training with our board," said TPS School Board President, Gary Percefull.

But, some people in the community wish they would have gotten a chance to know him too.

"We don't have anything to go on and this flies in the face of what has happened in the past. Usually the community teachers and staff have had an opportunity to engage any candidate," said concerned citizen, Darryl Bright.

The TPS School Board President admits Doctor Ballard doesn't have experience with a district as large or diverse as Tulsa.

"Even though he may not have a lot of experience in what we call an urban large, urban district, he has a lot of other experience that we think will benefit the district quite well," said Percefull.

Like his Green Country roots as a former superintendent in Oologah and Claremore, Percefull says unlike ousted superintendent Doctor Michael Zolkoski who came from Texas, Doctor Ballard is familiar with the area. They hope that will help him bypass problems Doctor Zolkoski experienced with Tulsa's alternative program.

"We're not sure what his work has been. Has he had the courage to challenge conventional thinking? Has he had the vision to do the things it takes courage to do in terms of breaking away from the past," asked Bright.

"There would be a very short learning curve and be able to get right in and handle the challenges facing the district as opposed to taking months kinda learning what are the issues in our district," said Percefull.

And so they're extending an offer. Now it's up to Doctor Ballard to accept it.

The process is far from over though. The school board says it will have to negotiate a contract with Doctor Ballard. Some parents have questioned this process. They believe the district should have considered their viewpoints.