Retirement benefit dispute addressed by Tulsa Public Schools

The agreement, which will cost the district up to $100,000, specifically covers 63 eligible support employees and will cover both the required employer contributions and the employees’ shares from Feb. 1 through June 30 with the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System.

When asked during Monday night’s meeting, board attorney Jana Burk said the agreement would not extend to any additional employees, but she hinted that it would not be the last time retirement contributions will come before the board.

“This is one of several OTRS issues we are working to resolve,” Burk said.

The revelation that TPS is dealing with issues with some employees’ benefits through the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System first came to light publicly in late December, when State Superintendent Ryan Walters put Tulsa Superintendent Ebony Johnson on the spot to address the matter during a State Board of Education meeting.

Johnson told Walters then that she had just learned about the matter upon her hiring to succeed Deborah Gist as Tulsa superintendent. She told Walters that legal matters potentially were involved but said she could share publicly that there is some dispute or question with OTRS about retirement benefits for some TPS employees with supervisory job titles with no actual supervisory responsibility over other employees. Additionally, a clerical error occurred at TPS that caused some retirement funds not to be paid into the state retirement system for some select TPS employees over a period of several years.

The Tulsa World made a request under the Oklahoma Open Records Act for follow-up written correspondence Johnson sent to Walters on Jan. 12.

In the letter, Johnson noted that Walters is a member of the OTRS Board of Trustees, which may become involved with the matter in the future. But she assured Walters that she was prioritizing a resolution of the matter “in a time period that is feasible to OTRS and the School District.”

“I can assure you that the School District takes the matter with OTRS very seriously, and I have instructed my staff and legal counsel to diligently pursue this matter with a goal toward obtaining a resolution that is not only a lawful (one) but one which is equitable to OTRS and the School District,” she wrote.

Asked for an explanation of the situation, TPS spokeswoman Caroline Crouch wrote: “Tulsa Public Schools is working with the Oklahoma Teachers’ Retirement System (OTRS) to ensure the district is fully supporting the members of Team Tulsa who serve our students each and every day.

“As we continue discussions with officials at OTRS to resolve the limited areas in dispute, we are also working hard to identify and proactively address matters for which there is no dispute. There are a variety of issues and complexities that will require careful deliberation, but we are confident we will come to a mutually agreeable outcome for both organizations.”