Oklahomans are growing weary of throwing more money at education while leaders refuse to look at ways to achieve real efficiency.
This past week Oklahoma’s Board of Education approved a $2.38 billion budget for the fiscal year which just began. Some of those board members are complaining that legislators abdicated their responsibility by not providing adequate funding and leaving the “dirty work” of cutting to the board.
Through the years we’ve heard how pari-mutuel horse racing, the lottery for education, and other efforts were going to save education because of the funding it would provide. Well, here we are in 2010, and another campaign is under way to redirect money from the state’s general fund to bring teachers’s salaries up to the regional level.
It will be difficult to achieve that because we suspect other surrounding states will continue to increase their funding for education as well.
Oklahoma’s executive and legislative branches of state government have not exercised the intestinal fortitude to drive one of the most important efforts needed to reform education. Our governor, who has been an ardent supporter of education, his wife even being a former school teacher, openly has stated he is opposed to forced consolidation of schools.
There have been few issues we have disagreed on with Shawnee’s native son, but this definitely is one of them.
For example, having the $2.38 billion which was approved for education this fiscal year to spread among fewer school districts would equate to having more dollars to spend on the same number of students.
Obviously, in some areas of the state it may not be feasible to mandate consolidation of schools. But we know of at least three areas in Oklahoma where it would be and there may be even more.
One of those areas is right here in Shawnee which is surrounded by four dependent schools, North Rock Creek, South Rock Creek, Grove and Pleasant Grove. It would be so much more efficient to have a centralized school district.
One of the efficiencies would be elimination of administrative personnel in some of those districts. The teachers are still going to be needed, so are the facilities as Shawnee School Superintendent Marilyn Bradford has indicated on several occasions.
Just last week it was necessary for Shawnee’s Board of Education to approve recommendations totaling nearly $2 million in cuts for this fiscal year.
That’s unfortunate for not only the teachers and other personnel impacted, but just as much so for the students who may see larger class sizes.
Under House Bill 1017 passed by the Legislature in 1990, 77 county superintendents were phased out, including the late Jack Williams who held that position here.
At the time he lost his job, he managed five school districts, including the four dependent districts already mentioned along with Saint Louis which finally had to annex to Konawa a number of years ago. Konawa is an independent district.
Today, each of those surrounding dependent districts not only has a superintendent, each also has principals and other administrative personnel. If anything in that regards, the state has regressed not progressed.
Other areas of the state which face similar alignments with dependent school districts sucking ad valorem taxes away from them are El Reno and Tahlequah.
We think the state Board of Education has abdicated its responsibility by not pushing harder for some of this consolidation earnestly to begin.
Even though state lawmakers several years ago mandated that local school districts pick up the tab for teachers’ health insurance premiums, they haven’t helped out by ensuring the necessary funding always was there, leaving the school districts stuck with the cost.
Until Oklahomans, that is, the parents themselves, face the fact that too many school districts currently exist in Oklahoma, this education funding dilemma is going to continue.
Because area state legislators, just like the governor, always shy away from the consolidation issue.
Though we know it’s not popular, we advocate consolidation of school districts. Otherwise, this funding issue will continue every time there is a hint of an economic downturn.
There is no better time than now to begin those efforts and a grassroots approach by Oklahomans may be what it takes.
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Oklahomans are growing weary of throwing more money at education while leaders refuse to look at ways to achieve real efficiency.
This past week Oklahoma’s Board of Education approved a $2.38 billion budget for the fiscal year which just began. Some of those board members are complaining that legislators abdicated their responsibility by not providing adequate funding and leaving the “dirty work” of cutting to the board.
Through the years we’ve heard how pari-mutuel horse racing, the lottery for education, and other efforts were going to save education because of the funding it would provide. Well, here we are in 2010, and another campaign is under way to redirect money from the state’s general fund to bring teachers’s salaries up to the regional level.
It will be difficult to achieve that because we suspect other surrounding states will continue to increase their funding for education as well.
Oklahoma’s executive and legislative branches of state government have not exercised the intestinal fortitude to drive one of the most important efforts needed to reform education. Our governor, who has been an ardent supporter of education, his wife even being a former school teacher, openly has stated he is opposed to forced consolidation of schools.
There have been few issues we have disagreed on with Shawnee’s native son, but this definitely is one of them.
For example, having the $2.38 billion which was approved for education this fiscal year to spread among fewer school districts would equate to having more dollars to spend on the same number of students.
Obviously, in some areas of the state it may not be feasible to mandate consolidation of schools. But we know of at least three areas in Oklahoma where it would be and there may be even more.
One of those areas is right here in Shawnee which is surrounded by four dependent schools, North Rock Creek, South Rock Creek, Grove and Pleasant Grove. It would be so much more efficient to have a centralized school district.
One of the efficiencies would be elimination of administrative personnel in some of those districts. The teachers are still going to be needed, so are the facilities as Shawnee School Superintendent Marilyn Bradford has indicated on several occasions.
Just last week it was necessary for Shawnee’s Board of Education to approve recommendations totaling nearly $2 million in cuts for this fiscal year.
That’s unfortunate for not only the teachers and other personnel impacted, but just as much so for the students who may see larger class sizes.
Under House Bill 1017 passed by the Legislature in 1990, 77 county superintendents were phased out, including the late Jack Williams who held that position here.
At the time he lost his job, he managed five school districts, including the four dependent districts already mentioned along with Saint Louis which finally had to annex to Konawa a number of years ago. Konawa is an independent district.
Today, each of those surrounding dependent districts not only has a superintendent, each also has principals and other administrative personnel. If anything in that regards, the state has regressed not progressed.
Other areas of the state which face similar alignments with dependent school districts sucking ad valorem taxes away from them are El Reno and Tahlequah.
We think the state Board of Education has abdicated its responsibility by not pushing harder for some of this consolidation earnestly to begin.
Even though state lawmakers several years ago mandated that local school districts pick up the tab for teachers’ health insurance premiums, they haven’t helped out by ensuring the necessary funding always was there, leaving the school districts stuck with the cost.
Until Oklahomans, that is, the parents themselves, face the fact that too many school districts currently exist in Oklahoma, this education funding dilemma is going to continue.
Because area state legislators, just like the governor, always shy away from the consolidation issue.
Though we know it’s not popular, we advocate consolidation of school districts. Otherwise, this funding issue will continue every time there is a hint of an economic downturn.
There is no better time than now to begin those efforts and a grassroots approach by Oklahomans may be what it takes.
