Where Tulsa Public Schools stands: funding, governance, spending, and what's underway.
How is Tulsa Public Schools funded, and why is there so much bond activity right now?
State formula funding pays for day-to-day operations; separate voter-approved bonds pay for buildings -- and the district is mid-way through issuing a large amount of bond debt.
Like most Oklahoma districts, Tulsa Public Schools runs its everyday budget -- teacher salaries, supplies, transportation -- mostly on state aid-formula funding plus a local ad valorem (property tax) levy, and that combined general-fund and all-appropriated-funds budget totaled roughly $805.8 million in revenue for the 2024-2025 school year as amended. Building projects run on a separate track: voters authorize General Obligation bonds, and the district issues them in tranches over several years as construction proceeds. Voters authorized a bond package in 2021, and the district was still issuing bonds against that authorization in 2025 and 2026 when it also asked voters for, and received, a new bond authorization on April 7, 2026. Between February 2025 and July 2026 the district issued over $181 million in bonds across six separate series.
Two separate funding tracks
The general fund (state formula aid plus local property tax) pays salaries and daily operations; General Obligation bonds, a different local property-tax-backed borrowing tool that voters must approve, pay for construction and major facility work.
A large, active bond program
Six bond series were issued in about 18 months (2025A, 2025B, 2025C, 2026A, 2026B, 2026C) totaling over $181 million, funding the ongoing facilities-improvement program at schools across the district.
A second bond authorization arrived before the first was spent down
Voters approved a new bond package on April 7, 2026 -- the same election as the regular board race -- while the 2021 authorization was still being drawn down.
Selling off buildings the district no longer needs
In parallel with new construction spending, the district has been disposing of closed school buildings that had sat vacant for over a decade in some cases, several to charter-school buyers and one for demolition and housing redevelopment.
None of this means the district's finances are troubled -- issuing voter-approved bonds in stages as construction proceeds, and selling long-vacant surplus buildings, are both standard practice for a large district with an active capital program. The scale and pace are simply large enough to be worth a family's attention.
Calculated by dividing the FY2024-25 amended appropriated-funds expenditure figure ($728,796,491) by NCES 2025-26 enrollment (33,617); this covers all appropriated funds district-wide, not just classroom instruction, and the two figures are from different years.
General Obligation bonds issued, Feb 2025-Jul 2026verified
$181,645,000 combined across six series
Elected board seatsverified
7 single-member districts
Major projects
2021/2026 bond facilities program
Active, multi-year capital program
A rolling program of building repairs, renovations, and equipment upgrades (roofing, HVAC, turf and track surfaces, science and career-tech classrooms, playgrounds) funded by General Obligation bonds the district issues in stages as construction proceeds.
Next: Continued construction: roofing, turf, HVAC, science-classroom, and stadium projects at multiple campuses recorded in board agendas through August 2026
Voters authorize the original General Obligation bond package
Series 2025A ($30,000,000) issued
Series 2025B ($46,500,000) and taxable Series 2025C ($7,630,000) issued
Series 2026A ($40,000,000) issued
Voters approve a new bond authorization
Series 2026B ($54,000,000) and taxable Series 2026C ($3,515,000) issued, the first citing the new 2026 authorization
Funding
Voter-approved General Obligation bonds (2021 and April 2026 authorizations)
Surplus school-building disposition
Active disposal of long-vacant former school buildings
The district is working through a backlog of long-closed school buildings, selling several to charter-school operators (Under the Canopy, Tulsa Honor Academy, Tulsa Legacy Charter School, KIPP Tulsa, College Bound Academy) and one, Sandburg Elementary, for demolition and redevelopment as affordable housing.
Next: Remaining unsold surplus properties (Helmzar Building, Grant Land, Harte Lot) authorized for continued disposition as of the August 3, 2026 board meeting
Board considers bids to sell closed Park and Jones elementary schools
Park Elementary sold ($350,800, Under the Canopy charter); Jones Elementary sold ($1,000,000, Tulsa Honor Academy charter)
Bell Primary, Wright, Roosevelt, Eastside Academy, and Cherokee declared surplus for sale
Board approves sales of Bell Primary, Sheridan Heights Addition, Cherokee, Roosevelt, and a 4607 S. Madison Place property
Mark Twain School sold ($150,000) to KIPP Tulsa Facilities, LLC
Sandburg Elementary sold ($105,000) to Vintage Housing, LLC for demolition and affordable-housing redevelopment
Helmzar Building, Grant Land, and Harte Lot remain unsold; continued disposition authorized
Funding
Sale proceeds go to the district; no ongoing district funding required
Mascot and branding transition at Webster and Central
Policy adopted; replacement imagery in development
Following adoption of Policy 2623 prohibiting discriminatory school branding, the district is developing replacement mascot imagery for two high schools and two middle schools that had used Native American-themed imagery.
Next: Superintendent to present replacement mascot visual imagery for Daniel Webster High School, Webster Middle School, Tulsa Central High School, and Central Middle School, developed with stakeholder input
Board adopts Policy 2623 and authorizes revised mascot imagery for Webster High/Middle School and Central High/Middle School
Funding
Not specified in collected board agendas
Local elections & school board members
Elections & votes
Board electionScheduled
Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education election, Districts 4 and 7
Tulsa, OK
The board adopted a resolution on October 27, 2025 calling the district's regular statutory Board of Education election for April 7, 2026, for the seats representing Election Districts 4 and 7. The district's own agendas do not report certified results; the current board roster shows Connie Dodson (District 4) and Susan Lamkin (District 7, board president) as the incumbents.
Voters approved a new general-obligation bond authorization for the district on April 7, 2026, on the same ballot as the regular board election. The board discussed draft proposition language on December 8, 2025; by July 13, 2026 the district was issuing bonds (Series 2026B, $54,000,000, and taxable Series 2026C, $3,515,000) explicitly citing authorization from both the original June 8, 2021 election and the April 7, 2026 election, confirming the new measure passed.
This overview is built from board meeting agendas collected from the district's Diligent Community board portal, covering board meetings from December 2024 through August 2026, plus NCES Common Core of Data enrollment/school-count figures and the district's own website for governance and board-roster information.
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