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Oklahoma public school enrollment fell by 10,640 students in the 2025-26 academic year, the largest one-year drop in decades and the third annual decline in a row. Tulsa Public Schools is considering closing 17 schools, while state records show 65% of districts lost students last school year.
Oklahoma public school enrollment fell by 10,640 students in the 2025-26 academic year, the largest single-year drop in decades, as Tulsa Public Schools considers closing 17 schools. The decline was the third in a row, and state records show it affected districts across the state: 65% lost students last school year.
Tulsa leaders say the proposed closures would take effect in 2027-28. The district has about 31,700 students and has lost more than 5,700 since 2017-18. Administrators cited a decade-long enrollment decline and a City of Tulsa Planning Office projection that the number of children age 17 and younger within district boundaries will fall 2.5% over the next five years.
Each of the 17 schools proposed for closure received a D or F on the latest state report cards and operates below 65% of facility capacity, according to the report. Superintendent Ebony Johnson told the school board that declining enrollment and per-pupil funding make it difficult to sustain the current model. She said closing buildings, consolidating students and staff, reducing positions and other savings could cut the district budget by more than $12 million annually.
District leaders say the savings would support art, music and physical education at every elementary school and increase the number of students assigned to a high-quality teacher. They also said class sizes would remain within allowed limits. The school board is expected to vote on the plan Oct. 19; the source report does not specify a year for that date.
Closures Could Redirect Tulsa Funding
In Oklahoma, public school funding is distributed per pupil, so enrollment losses can put pressure on district budgets even when buildings and operating costs remain. Tulsa’s proposal would concentrate students and resources in fewer schools, with leaders arguing that this could improve access to programs that currently vary by school.
The tradeoff is consequential for families and neighborhoods facing a possible school closure, as well as for staff affected by consolidation and job cuts. The statewide figures show the enrollment issue extends beyond Tulsa: rural, suburban and urban districts recorded losses, which may leave communities with fewer students but difficult decisions about how to maintain services.
Three Years of Statewide Declines
The three-year enrollment decline began in 2023-24, the first year of Oklahoma’s parental choice tax credit program. The program now supports private school tuition for about 42,000 students. The source report also identifies falling birth rates and nationwide public school enrollment trends as relevant factors, but it does not quantify how much each factor contributed to Oklahoma’s losses.
Oklahoma City Public Schools has also faced enrollment pressure. Fuel OKC data show total public school enrollment fell by more than 5% from 2014 to 2024 within the district’s boundaries, despite growth in the city’s overall population and local charter enrollment. The district closed 15 buildings and reconfigured 17 others in 2019. Fuel OKC CEO Brent Bushey said those changes left the district in a stronger position.
Rural districts also had some of the steepest declines as a share of their student populations last year, state records show. Robert Trammell of the Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools said district leaders report families moving to online schooling, homeschooling or larger cities for jobs and housing.
““[We] cannot continue to spread our resources across a model that does not consistently produce the experience we want for our students.””
— Tulsa Superintendent Ebony Johnson
Causes and Closure Details Remain Open
The statewide count establishes the scale of the decline, but the available reporting does not separate the number of students lost to lower birth rates, private schools, homeschooling, online schools or moves between districts. Fields cited birth rates and private school enrollment, while rural district leaders described several other possible sources of losses.
Tulsa’s proposal is not yet final. The board vote is pending, and the report does not list which schools would receive students from the proposed closures, how staffing changes would be carried out or what the full effect would be on individual families. The expected savings and program improvements are projections from district leadership.
Tulsa Board Faces October Vote
Tulsa’s school board is expected to vote on the consolidation proposal Oct. 19. If approved, the proposed closures would be rolled out for the 2027-28 school year, according to the report. The next statewide enrollment count is scheduled for Oct. 1, giving officials a new measure of whether the declines have continued.
Key Questions
How much did Oklahoma public school enrollment fall?
Enrollment fell by 10,640 students in the 2025-26 academic year, the largest one-year decline in decades, according to the source report.
How many Tulsa schools could close?
Tulsa Public Schools is considering closing 17 schools. The board vote is pending, and the proposal calls for a 2027-28 rollout.
Are enrollment losses limited to cities?
No. State records show 65% of Oklahoma districts lost students last school year, across rural, urban and suburban areas.
What does Tulsa say the closures would save?
Superintendent Ebony Johnson said the plan could save more than $12 million a year. District leaders say the money would support programs including art, music and physical education at every elementary school.
Source: rss
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