Tulsa Public Schools elections (2015)
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One seat on the Tulsa Public Schools school board was scheduled for general election on February 10, 2015. District 1 incumbent Gary Percefull's seat was up for election, and he was the only candidate to file for the race. The election for his seat was canceled due to the lack of opposition, and Percefull was re-elected to the seat.[1]
Even without the election for the school board seat, the first few months of 2015 were filled with other important decisions for district residents and the board of education. On March 3, 2015, district voters approved four bond propositions for a total issue of $415 million. These bonds were approved by a majority of almost 85 percent to fund building facilities construction and repairs, libraries, transportation, textbooks and other classroom learning materials.[2] The board was also busy with the hiring of new superintendent Deborah Gist.
About the district
- See also: Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma
Tulsa Public Schools is located in Tulsa County in northeastern Oklahoma. The county seat of Tulsa County is Tulsa. Tulsa County was home to approximately 622,409 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[3] Tulsa Public Schools was the second-largest school district in Oklahoma, serving 41,199 students during the 2010-2011 school year.[4]
Demographics
Tulsa County outperformed the rest of Oklahoma in terms of higher education achievement, median household income and percentage of residents living below the poverty level in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.7 percent of its residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 23.5 percent for Oklahoma as a whole. The median household income in the county was $48,181 compared to $45,339 for the state of Oklahoma. The poverty rate in Tulsa County was 15.9 percent compared to 16.9 percent for the entire state.[3]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Voter and candidate information
The Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms by geographic electoral districts. There was no primary election, and the general election for District 1 was scheduled to be held on February 10, 2015.[6]
Candidates began to file affidavits of candidacy on December 1, 2014. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was December 3, 2014.[1]
Elections
2015
Candidates
District 1
- Gary Percefull
- Incumbent, first elected in 2003
- President of The Scissortail Group Ltd.
Endorsements
There were no official endorsements in this election.
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.[7]
Past elections
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2014
District 4
District 7
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What was at stake?
While no election was held for the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education, voters still faced a decision about a $415 million bond issue in a separate March ballot. At the same time, the district sought a replacement for retiring superintendent Keith Ballard.
Bond issue
In December 2014, the board of education voted to place a bond issue before district voters, which they approved on March 3, 2015. The bond, called 2015 SMART START, issued $145 million in bonds focusing on capital improvement projects. Specifically, the bond provided $239.7 million in building and facilities construction and repairs, $19.8 million toward library additions, renovations and materials, about $17 million toward transportation and $138.4 million in textbooks and classroom learning materials, which included $39.5 million in classroom computers.[8]
The 2015 Citizen’s Bond Development Committee had unanimously recommended to the school board that the district proceed with a proposed bond. The board approved the 2015 SMART START bond question for the ballot in December 2014. Most of the funds were appropriated for building and facilities construction and repairs, as well as textbooks and classroom learning materials including computers. A more detailed explanation of the allocations can be found in the table below.[8]
Superintendent Keith Ballard described the bond proposal, saying,
| “ | Access to technology at all grade levels is critical if our children are going to be successful in college and in career. That’s why we are calling this the SMART START bond. Our district has made significant gains in replacing old technology, but teachers and parents have said they want one device per child. The Bond Development Committee is recommending that we spend about $110 million on technology. Likewise, there is $4.5 million slated for the creation of a centralized Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Center for use by all TPS students. The majority of dollars – about $239 million – has been allocated for building and facilities construction and repairs, with a major effort to replace trailers and prefab units at 14 growing schools. Also proposed is the building of a new elementary school in East Tulsa and the development of a school to serve those living and working downtown. If the board votes to approve this bond, we will continue our work on the district’s 20-year Capital Improvement Plan to improve the learning environment for all students.[9] | ” |
| —Keith Ballard (2014)[8] | ||
Bond results
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Bond appropriations
| Proposed 2015 SMART START school bond allocations[10] | |
|---|---|
| Description | Amount |
| School Additions | $72,350,000 |
| Renovations | $52,888,330 |
| Physical Education Facilities Upgrades | $37,300,000 |
| Roofing | $7,500,000 |
| Heating and Air-conditioning Improvements | $23,500,000 |
| Accessibility Improvements | $1,500,000 |
| Window Replacement | $2,000,000 |
| Paving Drainage and Exterior Projects | $4,500,000 |
| Improvement for Fire Protection, Safety, Etc. (fire doors) | $1,000,000 |
| Service Vehicles | $1,200,000 |
| Transportation Support | $2,600,000 |
| Security and Energy Management | $8,500,000 |
| Painting, Ceiling and Floor Improvements | $1,500,000 |
| Playground Equipment | $3,000,000 |
| Restroom Upgrades | $2,000,000 |
| Plumbing | $1,500,000 |
| Cafeteria/Kitchen Improvements | $1,500,000 |
| Contingency | $9,026,670 |
| Professional Services / Bond Management Fee | $6,375,000 |
| Building facilities construction and repairs subtotal | $239,740,000 |
| Library Materials | $10,525,000 |
| Additions, Renovations & Projects | $8,675,000 |
| Professional Services/ Bond Management Fees | $600,000 |
| Library subtotal | $19,800,000 |
| School Buses Route Maintenance Software | $16,500,000 |
| Professional Services/ Bond Management Fees | 525,000 |
| Transportation subtotal | $17,025,000 |
| Textbooks: Digital & Print $50 per pupil annually | $12,450,000 |
| Fine Arts Uniforms, Equipment, Instructions | $2,600,000 |
| Auditorium Improvements | $2,750,000 |
| Reading, & STEM Curriculum Support Materials/District Wide | $8,500,000 |
| Science Safety Equipment and Compliance | $800,000 |
| P/E Health Education Equipment | $750,000 |
| Upgrade & Convert Pool Locker Rooms | $8,500,000 |
| Furniture per student $100 | $4,150,000 |
| Classroom Computers @ $148 per pupil annually | $39,480,000 |
| 21st Century Classroom | $13,968,000 |
| Technology Infrastructure Wide Area Network | $7,596,000 |
| Network Systems Upgrade Phone, Data Server | $16,749,000 |
| Desktop and Application Virtualization | $5,627,000 |
| Instructional Learning Resources & Tools | $5,682,000 |
| Professional Development | $1,500,000 |
| Managed Print Services | $3,708,000 |
| Professional Services/ Bond Management | $3,625,000 |
| Textbooks/classroom learning materials subtotal | $138,435,000 |
| Grand total | $415,000,000 |
Superintendent hiring
Over two dozen applicants sought to replace Keith Ballard who retired as the district's superintendent in June 2015. He had served as the superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools since 2008.[11] The board planned to choose Ballard's replacement by mid-January 2015. Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association expressed a desire that the new superintendent be a former teacher and that he or she be familiar with Tulsa and the school district.[12]
Two final candidates were selected to be interviewed on January 23, 2015: Dr. Deborah Gist and Millard House.[13] However, after the interviews, House withdrew his name from consideration.[14]
Gist was unanimously approved by the board to become the district's first female superintendent on February 2, 2015.[15] She left her position as Commissioner of Education for the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which she was appointed to on July 1, 2009. An alumni of the district, Gist holds a B.S. in early childhood education from the University of Oklahoma, an M.A. in elementary education from the University of South Florida and an M.P.A. from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.[16] In 2010, Gist was named by TIME as one of the 100 people who most affect the world.[17]
Gist's appointment did not receive a warm reception from some community members and teachers. Before the meeting at which Gist was appointed, some rallied to ask the board to reconsider its decision due to what they called a lack of transparency in the search process.[15] A group of teachers left the meeting in protest according to a spokesperson for the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association. Board president Ruth Ann Fate expressed her disappointment at the move and stated that she hoped "they give [Gist] a chance."[18]
Superintendent Ballard expressed his confidence in the board saying, "I do believe that these board members care deeply and I do believe in the superintendent search process, that they have been very diligent and have worked very hard at this. And I know they car [sic] deeply about that person who is going to be selected as superintendent, so I have a lot of confidence in this board."[15]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Tulsa Board of Education election in 2015:[6][19]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| December 1-3, 2014 | Candidate filing period |
| January 16, 2015 | Voter registration closes |
| February 4, 2015 | Absentee ballot request deadline |
| February 5-6, 2015 | Early voting period |
| February 10, 2015 | Election Day |
| April 30, 2015 | Campaign finance report deadline |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Oklahoma elections, 2015
The statewide annual school election date was February 10, 2015. No other offices were scheduled for election on that date.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tulsa Public Schools Oklahoma. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Tulsa Public Schools | Oklahoma | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tulsa County Election Board, "2015 Annual School Election Filings," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ ‘’Oklahoma State Election Board’’, “UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: All Races by County Special Election — March 3, 2015,” accessed March 4, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 United States Census Bureau, "Tulsa County, Oklahoma," accessed December 12, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Voter Registration Reports," accessed December 12, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Oklahoma State Elections Board, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma Ethics Commission, "Campaign Reporting Systems," accessed February 17, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Tulsa Public Schools, "2015 BOND PROPOSAL," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Tulsa Public Schools, "2015 Smart Start bond costs," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ Tulsa Public Schools, "Supt. Biography," accessed January 19, 2014
- ↑ NewsOn6.com, "Tulsa Public School Board, Teachers Give Wish List For New Superintendent," November 18, 2014
- ↑ NewsOn6.com, "Tulsa Public Schools Interviews Final Candidates," January 23, 2015
- ↑ NewsOn6.com, "Candidate For Tulsa School Superintendent Withdraws," January 30, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 NewsOn6.com, "Tulsa School Board Hires Gist As Superintendent," February 3, 2015
- ↑ Rhode Island Department of Education, "Biography," accessed November 3, 2012
- ↑ TIME, "The 2010 TIME 100 - Deborah Gist," April 29, 2010
- ↑ Providence Journal, "Raimondo to involve public in choosing Gist’s successor as R.I. education commissioner," February 3, 2015
- ↑ Oklahoma Ethics Commission, "Reporting Calendar," accessed December 5, 2014
| 2015 Tulsa Public Schools Elections | |
| Tulsa County, Oklahoma | |
| Election date: | February 10, 2015 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Incumbent, Gary Percefull |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
