A local leader in education responds to the idea that Tulsa Public Schools should be carved up.
Speaking in Atoka on Monday, The Tulsa World reported State Superintendent Ryan Walters floated a proposal that TPS should be broken up into smaller districts to improve performance.
Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association President Shawna Mott-Wright said breaking up TPS is "the dumbest idea ever" because it begs the question of how already stretched finances would be fairly allocated.
“For example, TPS gets a million dollars a year for transportation, but we spend $13 million a year on transportation. So we’re not being funded appropriately for our children. Unless they just want to go ahead and outright say they don’t care about our children, they only care about certain children,” said Mott-Wright.
Mott-Wright said 30% of TPS' students are English language learners, and 80% are economically disadvantaged.
“Some people see that a certain way, and other people hear that and their first instinct is a horrible one to say, ‘Why do I care about them?’ And then they might go to church with me. I’m like, ‘Are we reading the same Bible?’”
Walters also said that Oklahoma would rank in the top 15 nationally for education if Tulsa and Oklahoma City weren’t part of the equation. Mott-Wright said those kinds of scores are bureaucratic tools with little meaning aside from pointing out funding disparities.
TPS didn't respond to a request for comment on Walters' statements.
