Local leaders react to TPS leadership change

Citing a desire to try to prevent a state takeover of the district, Gist emailed TPS employees and parents at the close of business on Tuesday evening to announce that she will be leaving Sept. 15.

A special meeting of the Tulsa school board has been set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to consider both a mutual separation agreement with Gist and the appointment of TPS Chief Learning Officer Ebony Johnson as interim superintendent.

“I am incredibly grateful for the service of Dr. Deborah Gist to our community,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said in a prepared statement. “Throughout her time as Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Gist took on some of the greatest challenges facing Tulsa students — from substandard teacher pay that makes it difficult for us to compete with other states to student safety amidst the greatest public health crises in our city’s history. She was always willing to speak truth to power on behalf of the children she has dedicated her life to serving. On their behalf, and on behalf of our city, I want to thank Dr. Gist for all she has done for Tulsa.”

“We have been fortunate to have a native Tulsan as superintendent for nearly eight years,” said Mike Neal with the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. “Dr. Gist cares deeply about our community, and she is extremely committed to helping ensure a bright future for Tulsa’s students. She has long been a strong partner with the Tulsa Regional Chamber, and we were proud to collaborate with her and her administration on projects such as the Tulsa Public Schools bond renewal in 2021, and the Tulsa’s NextGEN Talent externship initiative. All of us at the Chamber wish Dr. Gist the very best in her future endeavors. We commit to working with her successor to ensure a continued focus on students and their academic success.

“Public schools are the backbone of the northeast Oklahoma economy. We at the Chamber will continue leading the business community’s collaboration with TPS and other area school districts to ensure that employers have access to skilled talent, and that students are prepared for success in college and career. The Tulsa Regional Chamber has always been very supportive of Tulsa Public Schools, and that will not change.”

Meanwhile, several of the statements issued Tuesday afternoon focused on the accreditation vote slated for Thursday’s Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting in Oklahoma City, including remarks from the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association, the collective bargaining unit for the district’s certified staff.

“The message remains the same. The State School Board still has a recommendation from the state superintendent and a vote this Thursday. We are still unsure as to what the recommendation and the vote or decision will be. We cannot drop our guard because of the change in leadership at Tulsa Public Schools. There are still 35,000 students who need us to stand strong for them! The teachers of Tulsa will continue to educate and provide welcoming classrooms to all of our students, despite the chaos created by the state superintendent.”

Along with thanking Gist for her service, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin echoed TCTA’s concerns about Thursday’s accreditation vote. About 20 TPS campuses and charter partners, including Booker T. Washington and McLain high schools, are within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation reservation.

“Dr. Gist has shown courage in the face of unprecedented and unjustified political attacks on the largest school system in our state,” Hoskin said. “I am thankful for our partnership during her tenure to prioritize the needs of Native students and her leadership through the difficult days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Cherokee Nation is invested in the success of Tulsa Public Schools. The district serves more than 800 students who are Cherokee citizens and it deeply impacts the economy and quality of life of our reservation. I urge the Oklahoma State School Board to maintain Tulsa Public Schools’ accreditation, preserve local control and work with the locally elected school board for any reforms that are deemed necessary.

“More broadly, I call upon all of the state’s civic, business and political leadership across this state to recognize the attack on Dr. Gist and Tulsa Public Schools will continue across all of public education unless we continue pushing back and encourage thoughtful ways to improve public education.”

Those concerns were also shared by Protect TPS, a grassroots group formed in response to the threat of a possible state takeover.

“We are confident that Dr. Ebony Johnson will be a capable and effective interim superintendent under the oversight of the Tulsa school board,” the statement read in part. “She was born and raised in Tulsa, graduated from McLain High School and has worked for 24 years in TPS leadership. Her dedication and service to her community underscores all that Tulsans have demanded: local control.

“We are also united in the belief that the state superintendent’s ability to disrupt Oklahoma’s largest school district with extreme political attacks and propaganda sets a dangerous precedent. This precedent threatens every community in the state.”

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