Administration / Board Members
On-line Documents
Organizational Chart
Board Election Districts
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Superintendent:
Keith Ballard, Ed.D.
Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent
Pat Poindexter - email
Before becoming the Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools, Dr. Keith Ballard was Executive Director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA). He has more than 36 years of service in public education. Dr. Ballard began his educational career in 1972 as a teacher in Coweta Public Schools. He moved to Oologah, Oklahoma, in 1974 where he taught and served in several administrative positions including Superintendent from 1986 until 1992. Dr. Ballard then moved to Claremore where he served as Superintendent of Claremore Public Schools before assuming the position with OSSBA on January 1, 2000.
Although Dr. Ballard has lived in Oklahoma during his entire professional career, he is a native of Kiowa, Kansas, where he attended kindergarten through the twelfth grade. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology and Speech from Kansas State University in Hays, Kansas; a Master’s Degree as a Reading Specialist from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma; and a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Dr. Ballard has served as an adjunct professor of school law for Southern Nazarene University, Tulsa and Oklahoma City branches, and Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. He currently serves as a professor in Educational Leadership at the University of Oklahoma, but is on a leave of absence while serving as Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools. In addition, Dr. Ballard currently serves on the State Superintendent’s Advisory Council and is past chairman of the Oklahoma Education Coalition and of the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust. He served on the United Suburban Schools Association Executive Committee where he was the 1996-97 president and was on the executive committee of the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators where he served as president in 1997-98. Dr. Ballard has served on the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association Liaison Committee representing executive directors on the National School Boards Association (NSBA) Board of Directors.
Dr. Ballard has also been active for several years with the Oklahoma State Legislature regarding educational issues. He meets regularly with key legislators and other state leaders to help shape educational legislation and policy. Dr. Ballard has served on several committees to study statewide educational issues, including School Funding Formula, All-Day Kindergarten, Mid-term Adjustment, Hold-Harmless, Gifted and Talented, and English as a Second Language.
Dr. Ballard has been honored as being named one of NSBA’s “Executive Educator 100” in 1988, “Who’s Who in American Education” and “Who’s Who Among Top Executives.”
His wife of 37 years, Christie, is a retired school librarian and has worked part-time as the executive director of the Rogers County Literacy Council. She is now fully retired and baby-sits their grandchildren. They have three children: son Matthew, an attorney in Tulsa, and his wife Traci, also an attorney who works in the Educational Leadership program at OU-Tulsa; daughter Michelle, a fourth grade teacher in Verdigris, Oklahoma; and son Michael, a coach and Spanish teacher in Claremore Public Schools. Keith and Christie have two grandchildren, Ashton Lewis Andrews and Kizer Isabella Ballard, both are two years old.
Board of Education Members
Board of Education ... Board Clerk - Peggy Young (918) 746-6302 / email
Members of the Tulsa Public Schools' Board of Education serve four-year terms.
District 1 - Gary Percefull / email
Mr. Percefull was elected to the Board of Education in February 2003. His term will expire February 2011.
Mr. Percefull is president of a Tulsa public relations firm, The Scissortail Group Ltd. The company, based in a renovated house along Historic Route 66 in southwest Tulsa, specializes in events, media relations and government affairs. Mr. Percefull previously was employed at the Tulsa World. He is a graduate of Tulsa Memorial High School (Class of 1972) and the University of Oklahoma where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism.
Mr. Percefull and his wife, Linda Jordan, reside in the Riverview Neighborhood near downtown. They both are active volunteers with several community organizations and initiatives. He serves on the boards of the Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa and the Southwest Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, and the steering committees of the East Tulsa Prevention Coalition and Tulsa Volunteer Center. He is past president of the Riverview Neighborhood Association.
The Scissortail Group is a Partners in Education/Adopt-A-School partner with Park Elementary School and Mr. Percefull mentors students through the Going-to-Bat for Tulsa Kids program.
Schools in Mr. Percefull's election district include Addams, Chouteau, Emerson, Eugene Field, Lee, Park, Remington, Robertson, Roosevelt and Mark Twain elementary schools; Clinton and Madison middle schools; and Central and Webster high schools.
District 2 - Oma Jean Copeland / email
Mrs. Copeland was elected to the Board of Education February 2005. Her term will expire February 2009.
Mrs. Copeland is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School and currently serves as the vice president of the 1967 alumni class. She graduated from the Hillcrest Medical Center School of Radiology. Mrs. Copeland has been an employee of the Cedant Corporation for the past 24 years.
Schools in Mrs. Copeland's election district are Burroughs, Kendall-Whittier, McKinley, Mitchell, Owen, Sequoyah and Springdale elementary schools; Carver and Cleveland middle schools; and Rogers and Washington high schools.
District 3 - Lana Turner-Addison (President) / email
Dr. Turner-Addison was elected to her post in April 2005. Her term will expire February 2009.
Dr. Turner-Addison is married to Dennis Addison and has two daughters and one granddaughter.
Dr. Turner-Addison earned an Associate Degree at Oklahoma Junior College; has a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a Master’s Degree in Urban Education from Langston University. She recently earned a Doctoral degree at Oklahoma State University. She was formerly employed at OSU-Tulsa as the Community Relations Manager and is currently working in the Mayor’s office as the Director of Human Rights. She also owns and operates Business & Bookkeeping Services, Inc.
Dr. Turner-Addison is a Leadership Tulsa graduate. She serves as Board Chair
for Rotary Club of North Tulsa and as Public Relations Chair for the Martin
Luther King Commemorative Society. She has extensive experience and involvement
working with community organizations and Tulsa school children at McLain High
School for Science and Technology, Sam Houston, Academy Central, Roosevelt
Elementary and Madison Middle schools. In addition, she is involved and/or
volunteers with CARA, YMCA, Modern Woodsmen of America, Salvation Army North
Mabee Center, Urban League, Tulsa Talks, Junior Achievement and Going to the
Arts for Tulsa Kids.
Schools in Dr. Turner-Addison’s election district include Academy Central, Alcott, Anderson, Bryant, Celia Clinton, Cherokee, Greeley, Hawthorne, Houston, Jackson, Penn, Whitman, Gilcrease, Hamilton, Monroe and McLain High School for Science and Technology.
District 4 - Bobbie Gray / email
Bobbie Gray has served on the Tulsa School Board since the spring of 1996. She has run every four-year term unopposed. She will be up for re-election in 2010.
Bobbie has worked as a residential specialist for over 27 years, with the past 14 years at Keller Williams Realty. Prior to the School Board she served on the Tulsa Metropolitan Planning Commission for six years, Planning Chair for District 17, Riverside Task Force and more.
Mrs. Gray has been an East Tulsan for over 27 years. She has three children who went to Disney Elementary, Foster Middle, and graduated from East Central High School. During that time she served on the PTAs as an officer, surrogate parent, and many leadership roles in numerous community organizations. Currently she has two grandchildren who attend Tulsa Public Schools and one who attends Dove Science Academy. She stays involved in East Tulsa in East Tulsa Prevention Coalition (ETPC), several neighborhood associations and chairs many committees at the District School Board level. She also continues her passion for neighborhood revitalization across the city and stays attuned to the rapid growth and developments in East Tulsa schools.
In July of 2009 Mrs. Gray lost her husband Richard after a long illness. They were married 35 years.
Schools in Mrs. Gray's election district include Columbus, Cooper, Disney, Kerr, Lindbergh, Mayo, Newcomer, Peary, Sandburg, and Skelly elementary schools; Zarrow International School; Foster and Lewis & Clark middle schools; and East Central High School.
District 5 - Brian Hunt / email
Mr. Brian Hunt was elected to serve District 5 in February 2008. His term will expire in 2012.
Mr. Hunt is a product of Tulsa Public Schools, graduating from Edison. He has a Masters of Regional and City Planning and a B.A. in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma.
Mr. Hunt and his wife, Katy, have three children; two are in Tulsa Public Schools and one attends preschool.
Mr. Hunt is employed by CBRE/Oklahoma as a vice president. He represents clients in industrial property sales, leasing and corporate services. Prior to CBRE, he was with the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce and Tulsa Industrial Authority. Brian has managed the Partners in Education program creating partnerships with local businesses and Tulsa Public Schools and has also worked with business leaders across the state designing and implementing local workforce development programs.
In addition, Mr. Hunt has a history of community service. He has served as Chairman of Goodwill Industries, Division Chair for Tulsa Area United Way, Division Chair for Community Investments, 2007 Chairman of Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors Urban Affairs, member of the 2006 Step-Up Tulsa Economic Development Committee, and member of the 2007 City of Tulsa Comprehensive Plan Update Steering Committee. He is president of Henry Zarrow International Education Foundation and serves on the Asbury United Methodist Board of Trustees.
Schools in Mr. Hunt's election district include Barnard, Eisenhower, Eliot, Lanier, and Wright elementary schools; Wilson Middle School; and Edison Preparatory School (Grades 6-12). His district also includes part of the attendance areas for Patrick Henry, Lee, and Marshall elementary schools.
District 6 - Ruth Ann Fate / email
Ms. Fate was first elected to her post in April 1996. She served as president of the Board of Education from February 1999 through February 2002. Her term will expire February 2012.
Ms. Fate is a life-long Oklahoman, graduating from high school in Miami, Oklahoma, and attending Oklahoma University. She married Martin Fate, Jr. in 1954 and was widowed in 1995. Ms. Fate’s three children, Gary Fate, Steven Fate and Mary Ann Davis, graduated from Tulsa Memorial High School.
Ms. Fate is a charter member of Bethany Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and a founding member of the Bethany Community pre-school where she taught for ten years.
An involved community volunteer, Ms. Fate is on the Board of Trustees for the National Conference for Community and Justice and currently serves as a Docent for the Philbrook Museum of Art. She served as the president of that organization during 1993 and 1994. Ms. Fate is now a trustee of the Philbrook Museum Board, is the past president and a member of the Board of Arts and Humanities Council, is the president of OU College of Education Board of Advocates, is an advisory board member for the Center for Counseling and also for the Tulsa Arboretum and serves on the Phillips Theological Seminary board.
Schools in Ms. Fate’s election district include Bell, Hoover, MacArthur, Phillips and Salk elementary schools; Byrd and Whitney middle schools; and Hale High School.
District 7 - Matt Livingood (Vice President) / email
Mr. Livingood represents District 7 of Tulsa Public Schools and was first appointed to his post in October 2001. He ran unopposed in the 2002 election and was re-elected in 2006. His current term expires in 2010.
Mr. Livingood is a solo attorney in private general practice with expertise in family law, small business matters and in dispute mediation. He is an owner and principal in Just Decisions, LLC, a dispute resolution service firm. He earned a B.A. from the University of Louisville in 1973 and a J.D. from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville in 1980. He taught middle school grades for six years at St. Francis School in Goshen, Kentucky.
Mr. Livingood and his wife, Laura, have two children, Kate and Matthew, who attended and graduated from Tulsa Public Schools. As a school volunteer, he served on an elementary school advisory council and helped found and served on three different local school foundations.
Livingood is an active, life-long member of the Episcopal Church. He is a lay member of the Oakerhater Community, an order within the Episcopal Church committed to supporting those engaged in ministries of reconciliation.
Schools in Mr. Livingood's election district include Carnegie, Grimes, Grissom, Patrick Henry, Key, Marshall and McClure elementary schools; Nimitz and Thoreau middle schools, and Memorial High School.
