Tulsa Public Schools’ Board of Education is elongating Superintendent Deborah Gist’s contract.
After more than two hours in executive session, the school board voted 5-2 at a special meeting Wednesday evening to extend Gist’s contract by one year through June 30, 2025. The board previously approved two contract extensions in 2020 through the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
“I respect the work that the administration is doing,” board President Stacey Woolley said. “In the absence of very real data, which is the situation for everyone across the country and the world, our alternative, for me, is to ask if we share the same goals. Do we believe in the same things?
“At our core, I believe we’re trying to get to the same place, and so that, for me, is a reason to approve this extension.”
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Members Jerry Griffin and Jennettie Marshall voted against the latest extension.
Gist's salary is $254,306 per year, according to TPS. She did not receive a raise as part of the approved extension.
During the meeting, Marshall acknowledged that the ongoing pandemic prevented the board from having several data points that it would normally take into consideration, including student test scores. With that lack of information, she said, she had to weigh other factors, including teacher retention rates and student enrollment numbers in recent years.
District data shows that TPS’ enrollment declined by more than 6,000 students between the 2016-17 school year and the 2020-21 school year. Enrollment counts for the 2021-22 school year are due Friday to the state Department of Education.
“While we most definitely need to celebrate the accomplishments made by Dr. Gist and the team at Tulsa Public Schools, it is imperative that we understand and consider the extreme deficits that exist,” Marshall said. “Many of these deficits are not the fruit of COVID — they existed prior to COVID. This is not an attempt to blame, shame or point fingers. This is simply my saying that we have to be accountable for the state of the district.
“This is not to say that Dr. Gist isn’t valued or working hard. It is simply to say that we cannot definitively look at anything that substantiates that there should be an extension.”
Featured video:
Aug. 9, 2021 video. TPS superintendent Deborah Gist addressed media about COVID-19 concerns during a Zoom call
Who are all the Tulsa Public Schools named after?
Anderson Elementary
Named for Marian Anderson (1897-1993), the first black singer to achieve international recognition as a concert artist. AP Photo
Bell Elementary
Named for Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), inventor, scientist, and educator. Teacher of speech for the deaf. Developed telephone. AP Photo
Burroughs Elementary
Named for John Burroughs (1837-1921), American naturalist and writer on outdoor life. In this 1920 photograph is (from left) Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, John Burroughs and Harvey S. Firestone. AP Photo
Carnegie Elementary
Named for Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), an industrialist and humanitarian who donated funds for public libraries and education. Notable steel magnate in Pittsburgh. AP Photo
Celia Clinton Elementary
Named for Celia Clinton, daughter of Lee and Sue Clinton. The parents stipulated that a school be named for their daughter, who died in early childhood. The original school was built in the early 1900s on land donated by Celia Clinton’s grandfather. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World
Clinton West Elementary School
The home of Charles Clinton and his wife, Louise Atkins (a Creek citizen and teacher), was built where the school now stands. In 1884, Louise received a federal allotment in Red Fork in the area of the present Clinton West. The Clintons’ contributions include land and financial assistance to the community and school system.
In 2017, the district moved students at Clinton Middle School to the Webster campus. The Clinton Middle School building was renamed Clinton West Elementary and became home to students from three other schools that were also closed during this time. Those schools were Remington Elementary, Park Elementary, and ECDC Porter.
Cooper Elementary
Named for James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851), an American novelist and popular romantic fiction writer.
Council Oak Elementary
Renamed Council Oak in August 2018 after it was originally named for Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Armies of the Civil War. Council Oak honors the still-standing tree at the nearby meeting place where the Creek Nation council first met in 1836 after being forcibly resettled in Oklahoma.
Disney Elementary
Named for Walt Disney (1901-1966, right), producer of animated cartoons. Introduced Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy. Made propaganda and defense training films during World War II. PRNewsFoto / Disneyland Resort
Dolores Huerta Elementary
As of July 1, 2018, the school was renamed Dolores Huerta Elementary School, the Mexican-American activist. Before that, the school was named for Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), an Italian navigator, who traveled across the Atlantic to the Caribbean in 1492. Credited with discovering America. AP Photo
Eisenhower International School
Named for Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969, right), 34th U.S. president (1953-61). Leader of Allied forces during World War II who organized the D-Day invasion of France in 1944. President of Columbia University in 1948, resigning in 1951 to become supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe. AP Photo
Eliot Elementary
Named for Charles William Eliot (1834-1926), an American educator, president of Harvard University (1869-1909). Helped founded Radcliffe College. AP Photo
Emerson Elementary
Named for Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), an American essayist and poet. AP Photo
Eugene Field Elementary
Named for Eugene Field (1850-1895), an American journalist and poet. Tulsa World file
Felicitas Mendez International School
In August 2021, the magnet school formerly known as the Dual Language Academy was officially renamed the Felicitas Mendez International School at Ralph J. Bunche.
Named for the first Black Nobel Peace Prize recipient, the Ralph J. Bunche Elementary School building was closed in 2011 as part of Project Schoolhouse. The magnet program’s namesake, Mendez, was an Afro-Latina woman originally from Puerto Rico. Mendez, her husband and four other families sued their public school district in Westminster, California, over its segregation policies, which barred Hispanic students from attending. The families won their case in 1946.
Greenwood Leadership Academy
The academy is named for the historical black segregated Greenwood District in north Tulsa. Before the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921, it had its own schools, its own post office substation, its own police station and its own branch library. It also had its own thriving commercial district, which Booker T. Washington had called the “Black Wall Street of America.”
Greenwood Leadership Academy opened in fall 2017 and began sharing a building with Academy Central. The partnership school initially served only prekindergarten through first grade and completed its expansion in 2020-21 to serve students through fifth grade.
Grimes Elementary (now Tulsa Virtual Academy)
Named for Charles W. Grimes (1876-1953), a local educator and oilman. First county superintendent of schools.
In October 2021, it became home to Tulsa Virtual Academy. Citing a $20 million budget shortfall and enrollment capacity at nearby schools, TPS closed Grimes at the end of the 2019-20 school year, along with Wright, Mark Twain and Jones elementary schools.
Grissom Elementary
Named for Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom (1926-1967), an American astronaut, killed in a flash fire in Apollo I space capsule. AP Photo
Hamilton Elementary
Named for Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), a lawyer and statesman, and first U.S. secretary of the treasury. Wounded and died in a duel with Aaron Burr. AP Photo
Hawthorne Elementary
Named for Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), an American author. His first complete novel, “The Scarlet Letter,” firmly established his reputation. AP Photo
Hoover Elementary
Named for Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), the 31st U.S. president. AP Photo
John Hope Franklin Elementary
In July 2019, TPS renamed ECDC-Bunche/Gilcrease Elementary after Franklin, a famed historian and educator, who was born in rural McIntosh County in 1915 but graduated from Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School.
He achieved international fame in 1947 with the publication of his book “From Slavery to Freedom,” an influential study of the black experience in America. President Bill Clinton awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Kendall-Whittier Elementary
Named for Henry Kendall College, now the University of Tulsa, and John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892). Kendall College was named for a prominent Presbyterian clergyman. Whittier was a poet best known for his works focused on rural New England, such as “The Barefoot Boy” and “Snow-Bound.”
Kerr Elementary
Named for Robert S. Kerr (1896-1963), an Oklahoma oilman, senator and the first Oklahoma-born governor. Tulsa World file
Key Elementary
Named for Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), the author of “The Star Spangled Banner.” AP Photo
Lanier Elementary
Named for Sidney Lanier (1842-1881), an American poet. Tulsa World file
Lewis and Clark Elementary
Named for Merriwether Lewis (1774-1808) and George Rogers Clark (1752-1818), explorers of the Northwest Territory. From 1804-1806 they explored a route to the Pacific Ocean. AP Photo
Lindbergh Elementary
Named for Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974), an aviator known for making the first solo non-stop flight from New York to Paris. He flew the “Spirit of St. Louis” on the 33½-hour trip. AP Photo
MacArthur Elementary
Named for Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), a five-star general who played a prominent role in the Pacific theater in World War II. AP Photo
Marshall Elementary
Named for John Marshall (1755-1835, left) and Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993). John Marshall became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1801. Thurgood Marshall became the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court when he was appointed in 1967. AP Photo
Mayo Demonstration School
Named for Charles Mayo (1865-1939), a surgeon who, along with his brother, founded the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In this 1934 photo (from left) is President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Drs. Williams and Charles Mayo. AP Photo
McClure Elementary
Named for H.O. McClure (1865-1955), a local philanthropist who presided over Tulsa’s first chamber of commerce and served on Tulsa’s school board from 1906-1921, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society. Tulsa World file
McKinley Elementary
Named for William McKinley (1843-1901), the 25th U.S. president. AP Photo
Mitchell Elementary
Named for Billy Mitchell (1879-1936), an Army general who later led the Air Force’s American Expeditionary Forces. Regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. He is pictured here in 1925 with Will Rogers (left).
Owen Elementary
Named for Robert L. Owen (1856-1947), a lawyer, legislator and U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. Helped draft the Federal Reserve Act and Farm Loan Act.
Patrick Henry Elementary
Named for Patrick Henry (1736-1799), an American Revolutionary leader, statesman and orator. Remembered for his famous statement, “Give me liberty or give me death.” AP Photo
Peary Elementary
Named for Robert Edwin Peary (1856-1920), an Arctic explorer. On April 6, 1909, became the first man to see the North Pole. AP Photo
Robertson Elementary
Named for Alice Robertson (1854-1931), Oklahoma’s first congresswoman. First postmistress appointed in Oklahoma by the president. The Alice Robertson Papers, University of Tulsa-McFarlin Library, Department of Special Collections
Salk Elementary
Named for Jonas Salk (1914-1995), a research scientist who gained his greatest recognition for developing a vaccine to prevent polio. AP Photo
Sequoyah Elementary
Named for Sequoyah (circa 1770-1843), who invented the Cherokee syllabary. AP Photo
Skelly Elementary
Named for William G. Skelly (1878-1957), a local businessman and philanthropist who was the longtime head of Skelly Oil. Tulsa World file
Springdale Elementary
Springdale was built in 1925 and named after the surrounding area.
Unity Learning Academy
Before it was renamed, Unity Learning Academy was named for Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), the 7th U.S. president. AP Photo
Wayman Tisdale Fine Arts Academy
On July 1, 2018, Chouteau Elementary became the Wayman Tisdale Fine Arts Academy, named after the former Tulsan who attended Booker T. Washington High School before starring at OU and also the NBA. Following his 13-year career in pro basketball, Tisdale became an accomplished jazz musician. Chouteau was named for Jean Pierre Chouteau (1758-1849), who established first white settlement in Oklahoma in 1796 on what is now present-day Salina. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World
Whitman Elementary
Named for Walt Whitman (1819-1892), a poet and journalist who wrote “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, an elegy for Abraham Lincoln. AP Photo
Zarrow International School
Named for Henry Zarrow (1916-2014), a local businessman and philanthropist. He was a lifelong Tulsa resident who, at age 22, founded Sooner Pipe & Supply Co. with his father and brother. It grew into one of the largest international pipe and supply companies. Tulsa World file
Carver Middle School
Named for George Washington Carver (1864-1943), a black botanist, known for his research on the uses of the peanut. Head of agricultural department and director of agricultural research at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. AP Photo
Edison Preparatory School
Named for Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931), an inventor with almost no formal education. Patented more than 1,000 inventions including the phonograph and light bulb. Produced talking motion pictures in 1913. AP Photo
Hale Junior High & Hale High School
Named for Nathan Hale (1755-1776), an American revolutionary hero. Volunteered for hazardous spy duty behind British lines. Captured in 1776 and hanged. His last words were “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Wikimedia Commons
Monroe Demonstration Academy
Named for James Monroe (1758-1831), 5th U.S. president. As envoy extraordinaire, he assisted in arranging the Louisiana Purchase. AP Photo
Will Rogers College Junior High & Rogers High School
Named for Will Rogers (1879-1935), a well-known actor, lecturer and humorist who was from Oklahoma. He was killed with Wiley Post in a plane crash near Point Barrow, Alaska. Wikimedia Commons
Thoreau Demonstration Academy
Named for Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), a naturalist, author and philosopher who epitomized self-determination, self-definition and self-realization. AP Photo
Webster Middle School & Webster High School
Named for Daniel Webster (1782-1852), a lawyer, U.S. Senator and secretary of state for President Millard Fillmore in the 1850s. Wikimedia Commons
McLain High School
Raymond Stallings McLain was the first National Guard officer to be honored with a presidential nomination as permanent brigadier general.
Booker T. Washington High School
Named for Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), who was born as a slave before becoming a renowned educator, author and orator. In 1881, he was named the first leader of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Wikimedia Commons
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