Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Worried About Budget 'Ripple Effect'

Editor's note: This story originally stated that ACE Remediation was not funded. It should be corrected to say that ACE Remediation received nearly $6.7-milliion in funding. We apologize for the error.

The state Board of Education makes a decision that the Tulsa Public Schools superintendent said could have a significant impact on the district.

The board cut funding to several programs while restoring it to others.

Dr. Keith Ballard is still looking over the state board's decision Tuesday, but he is very worried about how it will affect Tulsa Public Schools.

The state board was voting on the activities fund budget.

It covers items such as flexible benefits for teachers and support staff, alternative education and reading sufficiency.

The board says it was hamstrung by the legislature's lack of funding in the education budget.

In the end, the board approved a $457 million budget for the activities fund.

It did restore funding to some programs that were cut last year including Great Expectations -- a professional development program for teachers, and the FIRST Robotics competition.

But the board left several programs without funding, including reading sufficiency, adult education and ACE Remediation -- a program that helps at-risk students who may not graduate.

"The Board made the best of a difficult year," State superintendent Janet Barresi said in a statement. "We intend to immediately begin working to seek a supplemental appropriation from the legislature next year to offset some very painful cuts."

Tulsa Public School superintendent Dr. Keith Ballard did not want to speak until he has a chance to go over the budget in detail.

But he does say this could have a significant ripple effect on the Tulsa School district.