Oklahoma Politics
Oklahoma Public Schools at Center of Funding Debate
By Dusty SomersGaylord College, University of OklahomaOctober 29, 2010
Oklahoma State Question 744 is a proposed constitutional amendment that if passed, will require the Oklahoma State Legislature to increase funding for public education. The measure was initiated by the Oklahoma Education Association — the local affiliate of the National Education Association.
If the measure passes, it will require the Oklahoma state budget to fund public education to, at minimum, the per-student average of neighboring states — Missouri, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado and New Mexico.
The measure does not call for a tax increase, and its mandate is unfunded.
Proponents of the measure say it will help correct the lack of funding for education and Oklahoma’s position at 49th in the nation and last in the region in education spending. Opponents claim there is simply not enough money in the state budget or accountability built into the measure to ensure the money is used properly.
“Our kids and our schools aren’t getting the resources they need,” said Walton Robinson, communications director for Yes on 744. “At the levels we’re at right now, it’s clear that we’re sending our kids into the workforce with one arm tied behind their backs."
“Oklahoma’s pre-K through 12th grade students don’t have the same educational opportunities as the kids in neighboring states.”
The measure doesn’t do anything to guarantee this will change, said Jeff Wilson, campaign manager for One Oklahoma Coalition, an organization created to oppose SQ 744.
“We’re not changing the nature of what we do for the better here,” Wilson said. “We’re simply cutting a blank check.”
The measure mandates there must be an increase in education spending the first fiscal year after passage, and the surrounding state average must be met within three years. The increased spending would amount to approximately $51 million to $57 million the first year and between $850 million and $900 million after three years, Robinson said. Wilson estimates the cost will be at least $850 million and could surpass $1 billion, he said.
The three-year period ought to be enough time for legislators to figure out where the increased education spending will come out of the budget, Robinson said.
“What we like to see is over the three-year phase-in period for the legislature to make kids and schools a priority in the budget process,” he said.
Wilson said he doesn’t think it’s feasible to find that kind of money in the budget as it stands, he said.
“Oklahoma has to have a balanced budget every year,” Wilson said. “If you take roughly a billion dollars out of the state budget and shift it directly into the common education budget, we have to do things. We either have to cut state services or increase taxes. And those are dramatic cuts or increases either way you look at it.
“Coming up with a billion dollars each year, even after three years, isn’t going to be a proposition that we want to have to face.”
Essential state services could see a reduced budget if 744 passes, which could have a negative effect on children in areas other than education, Wilson said.
“A child’s life doesn’t just exist in a classroom,” he said.
Robinson dismisses the proposition of state services being cut as mere fear tactics, he said.
“There are adequate resources to pay for 744,” Robinson said.
Robinson proposes putting an end to special interest tax credits and pork barrel projects to free up the money, citing transferable tax credits the legislature gave to aerospace companies Rocketplane ($18 million worth), Great Plains Airlines ($27 million) and Quartz Mountain Aerospace ($42 million) as examples of the way the legislature wastes money. All three companies went bankrupt.
“When we’re laying off teachers and kids aren’t getting books and new technology, and they’re wasting taxpayer dollars that way, that’s not a resources problem; that’s a priorities problem,” Robinson said.
Wilson said those three examples don’t pertain to the issue because they happened in the past, and that money is no longer available to the legislature, and they don’t help solve the problem of where funds will come from.
“They’ve never laid out a plan for where that money will be found. They just throw things out there, and say, ‘Well, we’ll just eliminate the tax credits.’ That’s a zero sum game,” Wilson said. “If you start eliminating [the tax credits] that’s basically a tax increase.”
In addition, Wilson said he has a problem with the accountability measures built into the proposition. The initiative includes a provision that the Education Oversight Board and the Office of Accountability will publish an annual report on education spending, but Wilson doesn’t consider this good enough, he said.
“Accountability occurs on the front [end],” he said. “Having a report that says, ‘Hey, we spent the money in the wrong place’ — that’s not accountability. Accountability is making sure that the money goes to the appropriate place ahead of time.”
Education spending is already subject to stricter accountability measures than the rest of the state budget, Robinson said. Besides, he doesn’t believe the people of Oklahoma would accept the legislature misusing new education money, he said.
“The legislature has three years over the phase-in period to take a look at things,” Robinson said. “I don’t think the people would stand for them not cutting pork projects and waste. When the people stand up and speak and say, ‘Common education is important to us,’ the legislature has to stand up and listen.”
Common education is important to him too, but that doesn’t mean 744 is a good idea, Wilson said.
“It’s not a question of whether or not common education is sufficiently funded; it’s a question of whether or not common education should get the money this way,” he said.
Clifton Ogle, president of the Oklahoma branch of the American Federation of Teachers agrees.
“I know that education needs money,” Ogle said. “Everybody that’s ever been a teacher knows [schools] need money. I don’t feel very confident that [744] will accomplish what we want to accomplish.”
News Source: http://routes.ou.edu/