Tulsa Public Schools
The superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools in Oklahoma said Tuesday that she would step aside in an attempt to avert a takeover of the district, an effort being spearheaded by a state superintendent known for ranting about “woke ideology” and accusing the district of taking funding from “Communist China.”
Deborah Gist said in a lengthy email to district colleagues that leaving on Sept. 15 would be the “hardest thing” she’s ever done. But, she said, it was the best way for the district to avoid being stripped of its accreditation status, forcing schools to close in the state’s largest district, and to “keep control of our schools where it belongs—in Tulsa with our elected Board of Education.”
Gist has been at loggerheads with Oklahoma State Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters for months, something she acknowledged in the email was a reason for her departure.