TULSA — Tulsa Superintendent of School Dr. Deborah Gist held a news briefing Wednesday to express frustration about the apparent decision by the state to delay its accreditation process because of concerns expressed by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters.
Specifically, Walters said during a stormy news conference held last Friday outside Tulsa’s Education Service Center that he would hold up the accreditation because Tulsa School Board President Stacey Wooley had reprimanded board member E’Lena Ashley for offering a public prayer during a graduation ceremony earlier in the year.
That, a letter to Ashley pointed out, violates the Constitution of the United States - an issue which the U.S. Supreme Court decided more than sixty years ago, in 1962.
Wednesday, Gist essentially said Walters has focused solely on his political agenda, to the detriment of public education in the state.
“This kind of single-minded agenda, and this focus on these inflammatory threats, are really the opposite of what I know Tulsa families want,” Gist said. “I believe completely that what they want is for me, for us, to be focused on the safety of their children, the quality of education they’re going to receive, and right now, especially - just a few weeks or even days out from school starting on August 17th - they want us focusing on opening schools successfully.”
Oklahoma certainly faces major challenges with regard to education.
One of the lowest spenders per capita on students, Oklahoma has poor - and worsening - outcomes.
The state is currently ranked 49th in the nation for education, and the situation continues to deteriorate.
“We are a state that is in the bottom of every other state in the country in terms of our investment in our young people. That’s going to have generational effects,” Gist said. “We are also a state whose results, nationally, are plummeting. Our eighth grade math, our students in eighth grade - their math scores went down at a greater rate than any other state in the country last year.”
The vast majority - 84% of Oklahoma’s eighth graders - were found “not proficient” in math in the last round of tests.
Thursday, then, the state school board will consider the accreditation of 508 districts, apparently, but not Tulsa’s.
That accreditation is apparently being held up despite the fact that not allowing public prayer at an official school event is actually upholding the law, not breaking it.
Gist’s overarching message on Wednesday was that despite all the distractions, TPS staff is doing the hard work of preparing for classes to open in just three weeks.