State BOE Delays Accreditation Hearings For Two Schools
Though most schools’ accreditation status was voted on at Thursday’s State School Board meeting, two schools will have to wait until August for their fate to be decided.
Tulsa Public Schools and Infinity Generation Generals Preparatory School out of Oklahoma City will have their accreditation reviewed at next month’s board meeting.
TPS has been under fire from State Superintendent Ryan Walters, who says the “severity” of the district’s issues warrants another month of review before evaluating a potential downgrade.
The state department cites an embezzlement investigation and not turning in prompt reports.
Infinity shut its doors in December and is looking to reopen next month, but the department is recommending the district’s accreditation be pulled for mismanagement.
As a private school, it can still operate without accreditation in Oklahoma.
The district’s superintendent implored the board for another month to present her evidence in defense of the school, and the board agreed to the request unanimously.
Grant To Study Removal Of I-244 In The Greenwood District
North Peoria Church of Christ in Tulsa received a grant from the Biden administration to study the removal of I-244 in the Greenwood District. Reclaimed land could revitalize Black Wall Street.
Don Shaw told the Guardian that he remembers parties, churches, and soul food as the area rebuilt in the 1950s and 60s following the Tulsa Race Massacre.
He said the atmosphere changed when Oklahoma highway planners bulldozed homes and businesses to make room for an eight-lane highway through the heart of the district in the 1970s.
A church originally located in Greenwood but displaced by urban development received a $1.6 million grant from the Biden administration’s Reconnecting Communities Program.
North Peoria Church of Christ will use these funds to study the feasibility of removing the section of I-244 that cuts through Greenwood.
Democratic State Senator Regina Goodwin told the Guardian she wants the area zoned for affordable housing and small local businesses.
Goodwin and other advocates estimate new economic activity could bring $10 million a year to the city, county and state through property and sales taxes.
OK GOP Campaign Donations
Oklahomans are throwing financial support behind former President Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump has raised nearly five times as much money in Oklahoma compared to his competitors since January.
Trump collected nearly $330,000 while his closet rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, raised more than $67,000. Gov. Kevin Stitt endorsed DeSantis in June.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley raked in less than $50,000, the last Republican candidate to collect more than $25,000.
Overall, Oklahomans donated nearly $580,000 to candidates so far in 2023. Oklahoma’s presidential primaries are on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden has raised a bit over $26,000 from Oklahoma donors.
Downtown Edmond Undergoing Revival
Big changes are coming to downtown Edmond.
A $6.9 million dollar job to remove two existing city-owned buildings in downtown Edmond will begin soon.
Earlier this week, Edmond City Council approved payments to the construction company Flintco to begin demolition at the area around Main Street and Littler.
The same company is also in charge of the construction of a new 59,000-square-foot city hall complex that will also add a new parking garage - estimated to cost $44 million dollars to replace the demolished buildings.
The new look for city hall is scheduled to be complete in April 2025.
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