Tulsa school district tweaks plans on consolidations, closures as community protests continue 

After voting to close or consolidate 17 campuses, the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) board added another change in a special Oct. 28 meeting – causing some residents to question the district’s decision-making procedures.

“I don’t have trust with the TPS district right now based on all that change and it’s still occurring,” Kate Cofer, a resident and former parent at Hoover Elementary School, told the Tulsa Flyer.

“I think they need to work really hard to earn back the trust, all the families and faculty and staff that’s affected by the closures and having a surprise last-minute meeting about only one school that’s now getting changed – it feels very much like a privilege.”

‘A desire to grow our footprint’

The latest change involves Henry Zarrow International School, which will move into the Hoover building next fall to keep that facility open.

“I heard that loud and clear that the community is not at all interested in that building being closed,” said Superintendent Ebony Johnson. “In addition, simultaneously, here in the community, there’s a desire to grow our footprint or our numbers for our Zarrow International students.”

Zarrow had a waitlist of 186 students in July for its dual-language immersion program, meaning the proposed move will expand the school’s capacity from 516 to 638 students, the Flyer wrote.

Even though moving Zarrow had been discussed at an Oct. 5 board meeting, the board did not include this in its original decision to close campuses on Oct. 19.

“If there is something where we know a school like Zarrow or Eisenhower, or if we’re moving anything else around — if there’s any moving parts where they’re going to move into one of the buildings that we are listing here, I would like that to be known when we make the vote,” board member John Croisant said at the time.

The closures come as the district plans to ramp up its virtual learning and career technology options, adding more than 1,200 seats across its programs, according to Griffin Media’s News on 6.

Despite several opportunities for feedback, many in the community expressed their disappointment with the board’s original decisions.

“I know you have hard decisions to make, but I think the responsible thing and the thing that would demonstrate that you’re listening would be to table this vote and have a more robust conversation about this plan,” said state Rep. Michelle McCane, D-Tulsa, before the board’s Oct. 19 vote.

“Tulsa Public Schools has lost the trust of many in the community, and this plan and the way that it has been shoved through has further broken that trust.”

As previously reported by Heartlander News, the district has also been navigating alleged fraud with criminal charges filed against its former bond director, Charles Christopher Hudgins, and the owners of Allied Engineering Group.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond explained the initial charges included embezzlement and conspiracy to defraud a school district.

“Every dollar stolen is a dollar that never became a safe roof, a repaired classroom,” he said, “or a better learning environment for a Tulsa child.”