By: Chris DiMaria
Big changes could be in the works for Tulsa Public Schools. The group “Parents, Teachers and Students for TPS Accountability” made a Facebook post Monday night saying Grimes, Wright, Mark Twain and Jones elementary schools are all slated to close.
2 Works for You reached out to TPS to confirm that information. The district replied a statement saying, “as we work to shape a viable and sustainable future for our district, we have identified some possible changes that would – if approved by our board – impact teachers, students, and families at certain schools in our district. We intend to share more information regarding potential changes with families on Tuesday.”
The district says they plan to share the information with the public after they share with TPS families. Monday night, many families were on edge, wondering how the possible changes could affect them.
School closures are a possibility that’s been a concern for parents across TPS during the budget redesign, but for those who could potentially hear their school’s name called, the idea doesn’t sit well at all.
Parents in the Wright Elementary School community call the potential closure of their school “devastating”, not knowing were to turn.
“I just want to be able to move into my neighborhood, take my daughter to the school that’s for my neighborhood and it has a great, quality education that everyone else in Tulsa Public Schools is receiving,” said Cricket Moore, whose daughter attends Wright.
The word spreading quickly Monday evening via text messages, emails, and Facebook posts. Parents don’t want to accept the rumors as truth, but are concerned about what to do if they get the news they’re fearing.
“We have relationships with the staff at Wright Elementary, and it just feels like one big family,” Wright parent Jazmine Collins said, “and so it was heartbreaking when we found out that was a possibility.”
Tulsa Public Schools says nothing is official yet, but all TPS principals have had conversations with staff about the budget redesign.
“It’s very scary for me as a mom, because I work hard to make sure I have a plan for my children, that I have their lives pretty well planned out,” Moore said. “It’s very scary for me, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
TPS reminds everyone that the school board would have to approve any changes before they actually take place.
