Tulsa -
The State Board of Education voted Tuesday to restore funding to Tulsa's Street School.
In a special meeting, the Board voted to restore $185,000 in funding to the school.
For the last 25 years, State funding has comprised nearly fifteen percent of Street School's overall revenue.
The 2011-2012 school year was the first year the school saw that State funding stream dry up.
Thanks to the generosity of Tulsa's philanthropic community, however, the gap in last year's potential budget deficit was restored.
"Those foundations, individuals, and an anonymous donor that stepped up to last year's fiscal challenges were clear that their donation was one-time funding," said Lise Blevins-Inman, President of the Street School Board in a press release. "We are thankful the legislature made us a part of House Bill Nineteen Seventy-Five."
Street School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit alternative education and therapeutic counseling program whose mission is to create a supportive community for at-risk youth who have chosen to continue their education in a non-traditional setting.
Students are at-risk of dropping out of school because of homelessness, abuse, family dysfunction, or poverty.
The program helps students earn their high school diploma.
According to Street School, 10% of youth ages 16 to 19 or 4,834 teenagers drop out of school each year in the Tulsa Metropolitan Area.
"While one-hundred eighty-five thousand dollars may not be a significant amount of money to many, it is crucial to us so that we may continue providing full wrap-around services for our students," Executive Director Lori McGinnis-Madland said in a press release. "Our success speaks volumes over our thirty-eight-year history serving the Tulsa community."
Tulsa's Street School is located in the 1100 block of South Yale Avenue in Tulsa.
Street School was founded in 1972 by community volunteers from the Presbyterian Church of the Advent's Free Store.
