Tagged: Tulsa Public Schools

On today's program, we speak with Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Keith Ballard, who --- like every other school system administrator across Oklahoma --- is working hard to deal with the new reality of reduced state expenditures for education. Indeed, such aid is now lower than it was four years ago. Less and less money for schools, teachers, classrooms, and textbooks means more and more to be alarmed about, according to Dr.

In this election year, Tulsa School officials will be actively speaking out against state education budget cuts. Tulsa School Superintendent Doctor Keith Ballard says people need to realize the cuts are impacting students in the classroom.

The Tulsa Schools will lose over 100-teaching positions. Ballard says there will be no lay-offs, because they won’t hire replacements for retiring teachers.

Hear the  Superintendent's comments to the school board last night, by clicking the "Listen" link above.

The FBI has now entered the probe into allegations of financial wrongdoing involving Tulsa Public Schools Athletic Department. Chris Payne is Public Information Officer for the school system. He says an internal investigation uncovered activities that have the potential of being violations of federal law. He says the FBI and U-S Attorney approached school officials about helping in the investigation, and that help was accepted.

Stephanie Spring resigned in January as Athletic Director, after she and two assistants were suspended.

Due to funding cuts, 148-teaching position will be eliminated at the Tulsa Public Schools. Tulsa School Superintendent Doctor Keith Ballard blasted the legislature at last night’s board meeting saying "this is what smaller government looks like."

Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association President Lynn Stockley says the legislature can’t just keeping cutting and the administration can’t keep adding to the teachers’ plate. She says educators are demoralized by the cuts and increased requirements being placed upon them.   

Playing on a railroad track, near a school bus stop that was not his own, proves fatal in Tulsa . A 12-year-old boy, Richard Brown, was struck and killed by a freight train about eight o’clock this morning. He was pulled by the train down the tracks before the train could stop.

It happened near the 2200 block of North Lewis. Brown was rushed to the hospital where he died about two hours later.

Tulsa Public School officials confirm the boy was a student at the McLain Junior High School. Special grief counselors will be brought to the school.