Tulsa Public Schools elections (2016)
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Two of the seven seats on the Tulsa Public Schools school board were up for by-district general election on February 9, 2016. Incumbents Cindy Decker and Ruth Ann Fate of Districts 5 and 6, respectively, sought re-election.
No candidates filed to challenge Fate in District 6, though Stan Minor challenged Decker in District 5. The unopposed election was canceled, and Fate was automatically re-elected. Decker defeated Minor to take the District 5 seat.[1]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education consists of seven members elected by district to four-year terms. The District 5 and 6 seats was scheduled for election in 2016. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on February 9, 2016.
A runoff election could have been held on April 5, 2016, if no candidate won a majority of votes cast in the general election. As no more than two candidate filed for either seat, no runoff was possible.
Candidates had to file affidavits of candidacy between December 7, 2015, and December 9, 2015. The voter registration deadline for the general election was January 16, 2016.
Candidates and results
District 5
Results
| Tulsa Public Schools, District 5 General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Cindy Decker Incumbent |
87.33% | 1,537 |
| Stan Minor | 12.67% | 223 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes (100) | 1,760 | |
| Source: Oklahoma Election Board, "Election Summary by County," accessed February 9, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Cindy Decker 
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Stan Minor | ||
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District 6
Results
Due to lack of opposition, the District 6 seat did not appear on the ballot and Fate was automatically elected.
| Ruth Ann Fate
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Oklahoma elections, 2016
School board elections in Oklahoma were held on a special election date separate from other offices. In addition to board seats, district bond issues could have been held on the same date. There were no additional measures on the February, 2016, ballot.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Oklahoma school board elections in 2016:
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| December 7-9, 2015 | Candidate filing period |
| January 16, 2016 | Voter registration closes |
| February 1, 2016 | Candidate finance filing deadline |
| February 9, 2016 | General Election Day |
| April 5, 2016 | Runoff election day, if necessary |
District map
The map below displays the districts for the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education.
Endorsements
No official endorsements were made in this election as of January 23, 2016.
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Tulsa Public Schools Communications Department.[1]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections2015District 1 incumbent Gary Percefull was the only candidate to file. Due to this lack of opposition, the election was canceled and Percefull was automatically re-elected. 2014
District 4
District 7
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What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
Two seats were up for election in 2016. In District 5, the incumbent faced a single challenger. The incumbent in District 6 was the only candidate to file in the election, and the race did not appear on the ballot.[1]
This followed a pattern of low-stakes (or even "no-stakes") elections in the district. One seat was up for general election in 2015, and the District 1 incumbent was the only candidate to file for the race. The election for his seat was canceled due to the lack of opposition, and he was automatically re-elected.[2] In 2014, two seats were up for general election on February 11, 2014. Suzanne Schreiber won the District 7 seat. Shawna Keller defeated Bobbie Gray-Elliott for the District 4 seat in a runoff election on April 1, 2014.
Issues in the district
Despite budget slash, board passes new program
Destination Excellence, a five-year plan focused on improving curriculum in Tulsa Public Schools, passed with a unanimous vote by the district's school board in January 2016. The plan—aiming to improve teacher flexibility and bring students the most cutting-edge learning tools available—was created through input from teachers, community members, students and district leaders. Although the plan was approved during a time of statewide austerity, Superintendent Dr. Deborah Gist said she believed that these challenges would make the district even stronger as it moves toward its goal of excellence. This collaborative plan was set to run during the 2016-2020 school years, barring any future changes.[3][4]
State revenue failure leads to district budget cuts
A $2.1 million budget cut was announced by Tulsa Public Schools in January 2016. These cuts followed the Oklahoma State Board of Education's reduction of its general revenue fund by $46.8 million, which came about after three percent cuts made across each Oklahoma state agency. These cuts were implemented due to a state budget failure announced by the Oklahoma State Board of Equalization in late 2015.[5][6]
This is the first round of two expected budget cuts during the 2015-2016 school year. Many programs in the district will be affected, including the AP and AVID teacher training programs. The district will no longer offer STEM programming, and school lunch matching programs will see a reduction of $1.5 million. Superintendent Dr. Deborah Gist said that no one will know the true impact of these budget cuts until later in the school year, noting that the effects may differ from school to school. There was also concern among Tulsa district officials that the cuts could force some schools to close. Gist said, “We will continue to work tirelessly to educate our students, and we will attempt to protect jobs and avoid any staff reductions during the current year." She said she believed that the impact of the budget reduction could be compounded by the statewide teacher shortage facing Oklahoma's districts.[5][7][8]
Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma
Tulsa Public Schools is located in northeastern Oklahoma. The county seat is Tulsa. The county was home to approximately 629,598 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[9] The district was the second-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 40,152 students.[10]
Demographics
Tulsa County outperformed Oklahoma as a whole 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 statewide. The median household income in the county was $48,181, compared to $45,339 for the entire state. The poverty rate in Tulsa County was 15.9 percent, compared to the statewide rate of 16.9 percent.[9]
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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.
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 1.2 MandyGillip, “Phone conversation with the Tulsa County Election Board,” January 8, 2016 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "convo" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "convo" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Tulsa County Election Board, "2015 Annual School Election Filings," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ 2 Tulsa, "Tulsa Public Schools approves new 5-year plan with unanimous vote," January 19, 2016
- ↑ NewsOn6, "TPS Board Unanimously Passes 'Destination Excellence' Plan," January 19, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 NewsOn6, "OK State Board Of Education Cuts Millions From Budget," January 7, 2016
- ↑ NewsOn6, "Tulsa Public Schools Cuts Spending By $2.1 Million," January 13, 2016
- ↑ Fox 23, "Tulsa Public Schools budget cut $2.1 million," January 13, 2016
- ↑ KRMG, "Tulsa Public Schools to reduce spending after budget cuts," January 14, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 United States Census Bureau, "Tulsa County, Oklahoma," accessed January 6, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Voter Registration Reports," accessed January 6, 2016
| 2016 Tulsa Public Schools Elections | |
| Tulsa County, Oklahoma | |
| Election date: | February 9, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 5: Incumbent, Cindy Decker • Stan Minor District 6: Incumbent, Ruth Ann Fate |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
