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Oklahoma public school enrollment fell by 10,640 students in 2025-26, the largest single-year decline in decades and the third consecutive annual drop. Tulsa Public Schools has proposed closing 17 schools for 2027-28, a plan officials say would save more than $12 million a year, as 65% of districts statewide lose students.
Tulsa Public Schools has proposed closing 17 schools starting in the 2027-28 academic year, a plan district leaders say is needed to stay financially stable as Oklahoma recorded its largest single-year public school enrollment decline in decades. The statewide drop — 10,640 students in 2025-26 — is the third straight annual decrease and extends well beyond Tulsa, with 65% of Oklahoma districts losing students last year, according to an Oklahoma Voice analysis of state records.
The proposal, presented to Tulsa’s school board last week, targets schools that all received a D or F grade on the most recent state report cards and are each using less than 65% of facility capacity. Tulsa, which now enrolls about 31,700 students, has lost more than 5,700 students since the 2017-18 school year. The city’s Planning Office projects a further 2.5% decline in children age 17 and younger within district boundaries over the next five years, administrators said.
District Superintendent Ebony Johnson told the board that Tulsa “cannot continue to spread our resources across a model that does not consistently produce the experience we want for our students.” The consolidation plan — closing underused buildings, consolidating students and teachers, and cutting positions — is expected to save more than $12 million a year. Leaders pledged not to exceed class-size limits and said the savings would guarantee art, music and physical education programs at every elementary school.
Oklahoma City Public Schools has faced similar pressures: enrollment within its boundaries fell more than 5% from 2014 to 2024, according to data from Fuel OKC, even as the city’s overall population and charter school enrollment grew. Rural districts saw some of the steepest proportional declines, with families leaving for online schools, homeschooling or larger cities, according to Robert Trammell of the Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools.
Why Shrinking Enrollment Forces School Closures
Oklahoma funds public schools on a per-pupil basis, meaning every student who leaves directly reduces district revenue while many fixed costs — building maintenance, utilities, staffing minimums — remain. Tulsa’s plan illustrates the difficult trade-offs: officials argue consolidation can preserve programs like art and music that under-enrolled schools often cannot sustain.
The trend also has policy implications. The three-year decline began in 2023-24, the first year of Oklahoma’s parental choice tax credit program, which now helps pay private school tuition for about 42,000 students. State Superintendent Lindel Fields attributed the enrollment drop to changing birth rates and private school enrollment, saying the 10,000-student “cliff” was “surprising to all of us.” The decline parallels national trends of falling public school enrollment, expanding voucher programs and a birth rate near historic lows.
A Decade of Decline in Tulsa
Tulsa’s enrollment slide spans roughly a decade, with more than 5,700 students lost since 2017-18, and district projections show the trend continuing. The 17-school closure proposal follows earlier consolidation efforts elsewhere in the state: Oklahoma City Public Schools closed 15 buildings and reconfigured 17 others in 2019, a step that left that district in a stronger position, according to Brent Bushey, CEO of Fuel OKC, an organization focused on improving public school quality.
Bushey said a declining birth rate is one factor in Oklahoma City, but families with children are also choosing to live outside the urban core in search of schools they believe will be better. He credited the district with setting academic goals and reviewing student outcomes at every board meeting.
“We cannot continue to spread our resources across a model that does not consistently produce the experience we want for our students.”
— Ebony Johnson, Tulsa Public Schools superintendent
Unresolved Questions About the Closure Plan
The Tulsa school board has not yet voted; its decision is expected Oct. 19, and the proposal could be modified before then. District leaders have not publicly detailed which specific job positions would be cut, how students would be reassigned, or the exact timeline for each closure. The projected $12 million in annual savings is a district estimate that has not been independently verified.
It also remains unclear how much of the statewide decline stems from the tax credit program versus demographic shifts — state officials point to both birth rates and private school enrollment, but no breakdown quantifying each factor has been published. The next annual statewide enrollment count, due Oct. 1, will show whether the downward trend is continuing.
Board Vote and the October Enrollment Count
The Tulsa school board is scheduled to vote on the consolidation plan on Oct. 19. If approved, closures would roll out for the 2027-28 school year, giving the district time to reassign students and staff. Statewide, the annual enrollment count on Oct. 1 will provide the next data point on whether Oklahoma’s three-year decline continues, and other districts facing losses may follow Tulsa and Oklahoma City with their own consolidation proposals.
Key Questions
How many students did Oklahoma public schools lose last year?
Statewide enrollment fell by 10,640 students in the 2025-26 academic year, the largest one-year drop in decades and the third consecutive annual decline.
Which Tulsa schools are proposed for closure?
Tulsa Public Schools has identified 17 schools, all of which received a D or F on the most recent state report cards and are using less than 65% of facility capacity. The school board is expected to vote on the plan Oct. 19.
Why is enrollment falling across Oklahoma?
Officials cite multiple factors: a declining birth rate near historic lows, growth in private school enrollment supported by the state’s parental choice tax credit program (now serving about 42,000 students), and, in rural areas, families moving to larger cities or choosing online schools and homeschooling.
How much would the Tulsa closures save?
District officials estimate the consolidation plan would save more than $12 million a year, money they say would fund art, music and physical education at every elementary school.
Are other Oklahoma districts closing schools too?
Oklahoma City Public Schools carried out consolidations in 2019, closing 15 buildings and reconfiguring 17 others. With 65% of districts statewide losing students last year, according to an Oklahoma Voice analysis, similar decisions could follow elsewhere.
Source: rss
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