TPS releases report on community priorities

TULSA, OK – Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) has released a report based on community feedback that the district gathered during a series of community engagement meetings and a web-based survey.

The report reflects feedback from community members who attended community meetings at Booker T. Washington, Central, East Central, Edison, Hale, Mclain, Memorial, Rogers, and Webster high schools, Disney Elementary School, and St. Francis Xavier Church. It also includes the results of the district’s webbased survey of 5,700 teachers, staff, school leaders, students, parents, and community members.

The full report is available in both English and Spanish at www.tulsaschools.org/ budgetredesign.

“We believe that our community is essential, and community voices will be integral as we narrow in on a core set of priorities to improve student experiences while re-growing student enrollment,” said Superintendent Deborah A. Gist. “This feedback, along with continued community conversations, will help inform our work to identify strategic investments and resource reallocations that will have the greatest positive impact on students within our continued fiscal constraints.”

Based on feedback from both the community meetings and survey, Tulsans consistently named teacher compensation, class sizes, and social emotional learning and behavioral supports as their most valued areas to invest in. Community members indicated that they were most willing to make budget reductions related to student transportation and bell times, teacher leadership opportunities, building utilization, and central office services.

The next phases of the budget redesign process will run through mid-december and include community workshops with representatives from the core constituencies Tulsa Public Schools serves: school leaders, teachers, students, and parents. The district will hold three meetings with the Budget Advisory Committee, a diverse group of 39 community and business leaders who will support the budget redesign by providing input and feedback on potential strategic investments and resource reallocations.

In December, Tulsa Public Schools will hold a second series of community-wide meetings on Monday, Dec. 9, Tuesday, Dec. 10, Wednesday, Dec. 11, and Thursday, Dec. 12.