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TPS board reverses course, approves routine items

July 15, 2022

Originally published on Tulsa World

By: Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton

At a special meeting Thursday afternoon, Tulsa Public Schools’ board of education approved all 14 agenda items that did not receive a majority Monday night, with each vote drawing cheers and applause from an overflow crowd.

Among those items were the district’s 2022-23 agreement with Reading Partners to place volunteer reading coaches at various elementary schools, contracts for 32 new teachers and support personnel, 30 staffing moves within the district, recruitment stipends of up to $3,000 and summer pay for more than 30 transportation department employees.

After ending in a 3-3 tie Monday night, all 14 items received votes in support from at least five of the seven board members present during the roughly 100-minute long action agenda.

Twelve of the 14 items originally appeared on Monday’s consent agenda, prompting objections from board members Jennettie Marshall and Jerry Griffin that night.

Those two, along with E’Lena Ashley, ultimately walked out of Monday night’s meeting after Superintendent Deborah Gist used the superintendent’s report portion of the agenda to criticize their votes.

However, all three changed their votes on at least half of the items that came back around on Thursday.

“I want to make it quite clear that what happened Monday wasn’t that everyone on the talent portion weren’t worthy to be passed or have their jobs reassured,” Marshall said. “There had been a request to separate the agenda items to vote on them individually.

“In five years, I have never voted against any item dealing with teachers or support staff getting what they needed, and I do not have intent to do that today given that what was requested on Monday has taken place. I will support this 100%.”

Also among the items held over from Monday was the encumbrance report, which included $50.6 million worth of purchase orders allowing the district to pay its bills and buy supplies for the coming year.

Gist confirmed after the meeting that with that report approved, those purchase orders will be paid out immediately.

“Our folks were teed up, ready to get that done,” she said. “This resolves any problems we had with that.”

For the dozens of current and incoming TPS employees at Thursday’s meeting, the votes were a welcome sight.

“I’ve already received several texts and voicemails from members, all of them expressing relief,” Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association President Shawna Mott-Wright said. “We’re happy to have more people and resources for our children.”

The other two carryover items were a pair of resolutions connected to the proposed sale of $6.2 million in school bonds from the technology-focused portion of the district’s 2021 bond package to Bank of Oklahoma Financial Services, which had the lowest bid in a sealed, competitive process overseen by the district’s financial adviser, Edmond-based Municipal Financial Services.

Gist’s husband, Ronnie Jobe, is BOK employee, prompting questions about a potential conflict of interest.

However, when questioned by Marshall, attorney Jana Burk said her office had reviewed Jobe’s role with Bank of Oklahoma and did not have any concerns about conflicts of interest.

With all the carryover items approved, a TPS spokeswoman confirmed Thursday afternoon that the special board meetings announced for Friday and Saturday have been canceled.

In a departure from Monday night, Thursday’s board discussion largely remained civil, save for one tense exchange among the district’s attorneys, board President Stacey Woolley and Ashley about remaining on topic while discussing the potential renewal of an agreement with the Confucius Classroom Coordination Institute via a Texas-based nonprofit to support the Chinese language program at Booker T. Washington High School.

“You weren’t speaking to an item,” Woolley said.

“I am speaking to that,” Ashley said. “I want you to stop talking so I can —”

“That’s not how it works,” Woolley interjected.

That exchange was broken up after a handful of audience members began shouting, asking Woolley why she was interrupting Ashley, but not others, prompting security to escort one woman out of the room.

Items approved at Thursday’s special TPS meeting:
1: Awarding the sale of $6.2 million in technology bonds to Bank of Oklahoma Financial Services. Passes 5-2 with no votes from board members E’Lena Ashley and Jennettie Marshall.

2: Approving a resolution issuing $6.2 million in bonds to Bank of Oklahoma Financial Services. Passes 5-2 with no votes from Ashley, Marshall.

3: Memorandum of Understanding between Oklahoma State University Center for Family Resilience and Mitchell Elementary School for the PAX Good Behavior Game. Passes 6-1 with no vote from Ashley.

4: Agreement with the Confucius Classroom Coordination Offices for the Chinese language program at Booker T. Washington. Passes 6-1 with no vote from Ashley.

5: Contract with Academy for Urban School Leadership. Passes 6-1 with no vote from Ashley.

6: Amend Growing Together contract to accommodate for a grant awarded to Webster Middle and High School. Passes 6-1 with no vote from Ashley.

7: Approve agreement with Reading Partners for 2022-2023 school year. Passes unanimously.

8: Creating and deleting job positions within the district. Passes unanimously.

9: Routine staffing items, including 30 new hires, recruitment stipends and summer pay for more than 30 transportation employees. Passes unanimously.

10: Approve an agreement with Joubel AS Corporation for asynchronous professional development sessions. Passes unanimously.

11: Amend the agreement with TalkingPoints, a communication app, to accommodate an increase of $2,172. Passes unanimously.

12: Ratify the E-Rate contracts with Cox Communications for 2022-2023. Passes unanimously.

13: Encumbrance report, which includes $50.6 million in purchase orders. Passes unanimously.

14: Amend a previously approved agreement with RSM by $3,500 to cover additional hours. Passes unanimously.

The below story published in Friday’s Tulsa World:

At a special meeting Thursday afternoon, Tulsa Public Schools’ Board of Education approved all 14 agenda items that did not receive a majority vote Monday night, with each vote drawing cheers and applause from an overflow crowd.

Among those items were the district’s 2022-23 agreement with Reading Partners to place volunteer reading coaches at various elementary schools, contracts for 32 new teachers and support personnel, 30 staffing moves within the district, recruitment stipends of up to $3,000, and summer pay for more than 30 transportation department employees.

After ending in a 3-3 tie Monday night, all 14 items received at least five votes. After missing Monday night’s meeting to attend to family and health concerns in Mexico, board member Judith Barba Perez was at Thursday’s special meeting.

Twelve of the 14 items originally appeared on Monday’s consent agenda, prompting objections from board members Jennettie Marshall and Jerry Griffin.

Those two, along with E’Lena Ashley, ultimately walked out of Monday night’s meeting after Superintendent Deborah Gist used the superintendent’s report portion of the agenda to criticize their votes.

“I want to make it quite clear that what happened Monday wasn’t that everyone on the talent portion weren’t worthy to be passed or have their jobs reassured,” Marshall said. “There had been a request to separate the agenda items to vote on them individually.

“In five years, I have never voted against any item dealing with teachers or support staff getting what they needed, and I do not have intent to do that today, given that what was requested on Monday has taken place. I will support this 100%.”

Also among the items held over from Monday was the encumbrance report, which included $50.6 million worth of purchase orders allowing the district to pay its bills and buy supplies for the coming year.

Gist confirmed that with that report approved, those purchase orders will be paid immediately.

The other two carryover items were a pair of resolutions connected to the proposed sale of $6.2 million in school bonds from the technology-focused portion of the district’s 2021 bond package to Bank of Oklahoma Financial Services, which had the lowest bid in a sealed, competitive process overseen by the district’s financial adviser, Edmond-based Municipal Financial Services.

Gist’s husband, Ronnie Jobe, is BOK employee, prompting questions about a potential conflict of interest from Marshall, Ashley and Griffin.

However, when questioned by Marshall, attorney Jana Burk said her office had reviewed Jobe’s role with the Bank of Oklahoma and did not have any concerns about conflicts of interest.

With those items approved, a TPS spokeswoman confirmed that the special board meetings announced for Friday and Saturday have been canceled.

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