Tulsa Public Schools Wants Community Input On Next Year's Budget

Parents of Tulsa Public School students have the opportunity Tuesday night, September 17 to give their feedback on the districts budget for the next school year.

Just a couple of weeks ago, administrators proposed cutting $20 million from the 2020-2021 school year. Now they are looking for input on how to restructure the budget.

They say these budget cuts are due to lower enrollment numbers and receiving a lower statewide budget for public schools. On Monday night, school board members met to discuss and re-evaluate the current designed budget plan for the 2020-2021 school year.

Related Story: Tulsa Public School Board Start Meetings Prior To Budget Cuts 

TPS Superintendent Dr. Deborah Gist says administrators are looking to the community to help prioritize the remaining funding. They're holding a series of meetings to put the power in the parents' hands, allowing them to decide what cuts they think should be made.

"We will then take that and it will be used in the context of what is it that we know affects children's education," said Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Deborah Gist.

"Along with what we're able to do and how we're able to make the certain changes with the constraints that we have different funding sources and how budgets are used."

Tuesday was to be the first community meeting of more than a dozen. It is at 5:30 p.m. at Webster High School.

"We're gonna get through this together. We're confident we're going to tackle this head-on to together come up with the best new structure and move forward from there."

There will be several other meetings, including meetings for Spanish speakers. Get the full list here.

Related Story: Families Concerned Over $20 Million TPS Budget Cuts