Tulsa - Budget cuts on top of cuts will mean  hiring freezes, furloughs and fewer teachers next year in Tulsa. The city's schools are feeling the greatest impact of  additional cuts to state-funded public education.

Its an issue that's on the mind of all TPS employees.

Teacher Sharon Raines spent the past 30 years in a different line of work.

"My master's degree is in marriage and family therapy. I decided if I was going to work with 4-year-olds, they would be in 4-year-olds' bodies," joked Raines.

So she became a pre-kindergarten teacher with Tulsa Public Schools.

"I love the fact that when kids learn, they brighten up. Their ideas are new and fresh and they are excited about learning," Raines said

Saturday, the tables turned. Full time teachers became part time students.  It's all part of a seminar on classroom management, but the subject of looming budget cuts across the state keeps coming up.

"It has constantly. We have first-year teachers here very, very concerned they have temporary, one year contracts and the district is under no obligation to keep them even if the are the best teacher in the world. They can still go. A lot of concern," Rains said.

And it's happening in every single public school district in the entire state of Oklahoma.

But, even desperate financial times will not stop these teachers from learning some new techniques while they can.

As for Sharon Raines, maybe that Master's degree in Psychology is coming in handy once again. Even though she is a first-year teacher, she seems quite grounded about the entire situation and the possibility of losing her job.

"One thing about teachers is we are flexible. If we don't have jobs next year we don't have jobs. If we do, it's great," said Raines.

Some school administrators call the situation dire, even catastrophic. But, state treasurer Scott Meacham says, at this point, that may be a bit of an exaggeration.

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