Several Oklahoma school districts are entering the upcoming academic year with a reduced accreditation status from the state.
The week before last, the state voted to give the accreditation status of “Accredited with Warning” to Mustang and Tulsa Public Schools.
Several different factors contribute to districts having that lower status. Documents from the state show a variety of problems, ranging from financial difficulties to a failure to comply with tornado and fire drill regulations.
Eleven school districts across the state will begin the upcoming school year with the status of “Accredited with Warning,” which is one step closer to losing their state accreditation than they were last year.
Tulsa and Mustang Public Schools have been given this status after the state school board voted to give it to them for violating HB 1775, which is a new law that regulates how lessons about race and gender are taught in schools.
According to the OSDE, TPS was also unable to meet the criteria for state testing procedures. In addition to those two districts, the status of those other nine districts was lowered.
For instance, the state has indicated that Wanette Public Schools, which is located in the middle of the state, faces the possibility of becoming bankrupt.
According to the documents, the district has “IRS tax liens for unpaid payroll withholdings,” and the amount of money owed to the state is “unknown.”
Wanette Public Schools issued a statement in which they said, “About the warning given by SDE, we believe it was improper, and we are engaged in the process of review.”
The Greenwood Leadership Academy, which is now operated by TPS, is another institution that is on the state’s list for Accreditation with Warning because the academy did not conduct its tornado drills by state regulations. Wednesday came and went without comment from TPS regarding that status.
According to the documents, there are two reasons why Solid Foundation Preparatory Arts Academy has a lower status. The first reason is that the institution does not have a policy on conducting felony record searches. The second reason is that the institution is not compliant with its program on identifying and reporting instances of child abuse and neglect.
In a statement, the municipality said, “Both of those items have been resolved and have been reported to the responsible authorities.”
Tuskahoma Public Schools is a rural district located south of McAlester. According to the state, the district exceeded its administrative cost by more than $95,000, there was a lack of documentation regarding credit card purchases, and there were “inaccurate date certifications” related to the superintendent’s salary, among other things.
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The new superintendent, Randall Erwin, sent an emailed statement to News On 6 in which he said, in part, “The very worst part of the Accreditation with Warning is that we are being put on warning at the end of the 2021-22 school year for findings that occurred in the 2020-21 school year.”
According to a statement made by Tulsa Public Schools, the organization is unsure what the implications of this new status will be for its district.
