Tulsa Representatives Discuss TPS' Accreditation Status At Press Conference

A discussion and vote on Tulsa Public Schools' accreditation status will happen on Thursday between state school board members. 

The day before school starts at TPS, state and local leaders urged the school board to keep the district accredited during a press conference at the Tulsa Central Library on Wednesday.

On Wednesday at 1 p.m., a press conference involving Democratic lawmakers about the TPS' accreditation status will be held at the Tulsa Central Library. 

House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair John Waldron and Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus Chair Monroe Nichols will join area lawmakers, educators and community advocates to discuss the possibility of state intervention in the school district after the Thursday vote. 

Last week, State Superintendent Ryan Walters laid down a list of guidelines and benchmarks he wants the district to improve on, while also calling for new leadership.

Walters, under his TPS Improvement Plan, said he wants to see the district re-orient finances to serve students, increase reading proficiency scores to the state average, and get TPS schools off the F-List.

Related Story: Walters Announces Guidelines For Tulsa Public School District; Calls For New Leadership

Superintendent Deborah Gist said she is focused on the new school year, despite the attacks from the state superintendent.

"It's a mystery to us why this person is using this office that he has to wage this personal and political campaign against our cities, against our schools. It's been going on for a long time and we don't understand it,” Gist said Monday on Six in the Morning.

In response, State Superintendent Ryan Walters' spokesperson Matt Langston gave News On 6 this statement:

“It is a mystery that Deborah Gist doesn’t understand that kids in Tulsa Public Schools have the lowest graduation rate in the state, that they have more than a million dollars in embezzled money, 53% of every dollar goes to administrators and not the classroom, 45 schools are failing, which is 65% of the schools in the district. It’s troubling that Deborah Gist doesn’t understand that she is the problem. She has had 7 years in charge with no plan. She has sold the parents and the public a bunch of lies. Hopefully, that clears up the mystery for Gist.”

Related Story: Tulsa Public Schools' Year To Start With District's Accreditation Status In Question

TPS said it is facing two district-wide deficiencies and three warnings for individual schools. The district's accreditation is currently in the warning status. 

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