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OKLAHOMA CITY 鈥� Amid the largest single-year decline in decades for Oklahoma public school enrollment, the state鈥檚 largest district announced the potential closure of 17 schools as it grapples with a long-term trend of decreases.

Tulsa Public Schools last week became the latest district to reveal a closure plan that leaders say is necessary to ensure financial stability. and other have taken similar measures as a result of decreasing enrollment.

But, these losses aren鈥檛 unique to big-city schools. An Oklahoma Voice analysis of found 65% of districts in the state saw their student count decline last school year, impacting rural, urban and suburban schools. 

Public school enrollment fell by 10,640 students statewide in the 2025-26 academic year, the largest one-year drop in decades and the third straight year of decreases in Oklahoma. The next annual count will happen Oct. 1.

The three-year decline began in 2023-24, notably the first year of Oklahoma鈥檚 parental choice tax credit program, which now supports private school tuition for about .

The number of children attending public schools nationwide also is while and the country鈥檚 birth rate has steadily .

Still, Oklahoma鈥檚 10,000-student 鈥渃liff鈥� last year was 鈥渟urprising to all of us,鈥� state Superintendent Lindel Fields said. He attributed the decrease to changing birth rates and private school enrollment.

鈥淚s it a bad thing? I don鈥檛 know,鈥� Fields said. 鈥淚t was just so abrupt. And like Tulsa Public Schools, if you know the enrollment鈥檚 dropping, you just have to make the necessary adjustments. So, I don鈥檛 know that it鈥檚 a bad thing, but in general you don鈥檛 want to see things decline.鈥�

In Tulsa, a decade-long drop is expected to continue. The City of Tulsa Planning Office projects a population decline of 2.5% in children age 17 and younger over the next five years within the district鈥檚 boundaries, school administrators said when presenting their consolidation plan.

Tulsa, with an enrollment count of 31,700, already has lost more than 5,700 students since the 2017-18 school year as leaders consider rolling out closures for 2027-28. All 17 schools suggested for closure received a D or F grade on the most recent , and each is using less than 65% of their facility capacity.

In a state where public school funding is distributed per pupil, the district 鈥渃annot continue to spread our resources across a model that does not consistently produce the experience we want for our students,鈥� Tulsa Superintendent Ebony Johnson told her school board, which is expected to vote on the plan on Oct. 19. Student access to exceptional programs is too inconsistent from school to school, which she said is 鈥渘ot acceptable.鈥�

Closing underutilized buildings, consolidating students and teachers into fewer schools, cutting job positions and seeking out other cost-saving opportunities is expected to save more than $12 million a year in the district鈥檚 budget, Johnson said. 

While pledging not to raise class sizes above allowed limits, district leaders said the plan would free up funds to guarantee art, music and physical education programs at every Tulsa elementary school, and it would increase the number of students assigned to a high-quality teacher.

Tulsa school board member Stacey Woolley said closing schools might seem unfair to some, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 also not right to serve students in a way that鈥檚 not as effective as we could be if we did things differently.鈥� 

鈥淢y vantage point on this is that the only way that we can justify doing what we鈥檙e doing is by saying in the process we鈥檙e going to make sure that we provide better for all of these kids,鈥� she said.

Similar changes and challenges have been at play in Oklahoma City.

Total public school enrollment declined by more than 5% from 2014 to 2024 within Oklahoma City Public Schools鈥� boundaries, despite growth in the city鈥檚 overall population and in local public charter school enrollment, , an organization focused on improving public school quality.

A declining birth rate is a factor, but families with children also are choosing to live outside of the urban core in search of schools they believe will be better, said Brent Bushey, the organization鈥檚 CEO.

He said the Oklahoma City district has taken positive steps toward improvement, particularly by setting academic goals and discussing student outcomes at every school board meeting. 

School consolidations carried out in 2019, which closed 15 buildings and reconfigured 17 others, also left the district in a stronger place, Bushey said.

Although closing schools can be 鈥渉eartbreaking,鈥� he said shedding underused buildings and adding school programs are a better use of funds.

鈥淚 think if we鈥檙e serious about Oklahoma City being the city that it can be 鈥� the city that hosts Olympics, the city that has a world championship basketball team 鈥� that it should be attractive to families,鈥� Bushey said. 鈥淎nd so, to me, it鈥檚 a call to action that we can build schools and we can make changes that are attractive to families.鈥�

Rural schools experienced some of the steepest enrollment declines last year, when considering the percentage of the total student population lost, state records show.

District leaders say they鈥檝e lost families to online schools, homeschooling or to larger cities, where more job opportunities and housing options exist, said Robert Trammell, executive director of the Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools, a collective of rural districts.

Even in a shrinking climate, rural districts are wary of consolidation and annexation, fearing their schools 鈥� and therefore their community identity 鈥� will be lost, Trammell said.

Many districts simply have to tighten their belts, he said, by cutting job positions and closely managing rising expenses.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e done more with less for so long it just becomes a way of life and business,鈥� Trammell said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing everything they can to survive in this uncertain time.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: [email protected].

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