Fri, Sep 05 2008
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Published August 08, 2008 09:35 am - A group of local teachers and parents are ready to bring more educational funding to schools. HOPE for teachers Tahlequah Education Association members prepare to circulate a petition that would ask the Legislature to fund public schools the way neighboring states do. By JOSH NEWTON TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — A group of local teachers and parents are ready to bring more educational funding to schools.
Teachers, parents and representatives of Tahlequah Education Association on Thursday met with Oklahoma Education Association representative Jeff Savage to prepare to pass around petitions. The initiative petition, part of Helping Oklahoma Public Education, calls for a vote of the people to amend the Oklahoma Constitution and require the state Legislature to annually provide specific funding for common schools, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It asks for funding at least equal to the average of the amounts spent per pupil by surrounding states: Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. According to OEA, Oklahoma spends $6,900 per student, while the regional average per-pupil expenditure is $8,300. Such a difference ranks Oklahoma 48th in the nation. TEA members will be asking Oklahomans to sign the petition. “We want all of this to be done appropriately,” Savage told TEA members. “We want every signature to count.” Savage told more than a dozen local representatives that their main audience will be school employees, and that they should not try to collect signatures during the work day, unless allowed by the administration. “Collect them before or after school,” he suggested. Only those who are registered to vote may sign the petition, according to Savage. “If they’re not registered to vote – and you might be surprised how many of your colleagues aren’t registered – say, ‘You should get registered to vote!’” said Savage. OEA says the petition does not take away the ability of the Legislature to control the budget, and that allocation of funds will be based on the number of students enrolled in a particular school district through the funding formula currently used for appropriations. Initially, the amendment would require an annual funding increase of about $850 million. Those protesting the petition say it would result in the largest unfunded mandate in Oklahoma history. That, in turn, could result in extreme budget cuts to other agencies, or perhaps tax increases, according to state lawmakers. The OEA says Oklahoma taxpayers are “currently providing enough resources” to provide for the $850 million. 
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