Though the dust hasn’t yet settled at the Capitol, Oklahoma’s Legislature has nearly finished a budget for FY’10, which starts July 1. The final budget totals $7.231 billion. Legislators used $641 million from the federal stimulus bill to make up for a state revenue decline of more than $600 million. The resulting spending total is 1.5 percent higher than last year’s, counting the stimulus. Without the stimulus, state spending is down 7.1 percent.

OK Policy will shortly be releasing a full-fledged issue brief that will look in detail at the numbers and what they could mean in FY’10 and beyond. Meanwhile, we have put together a four-page fact sheet that shows how this year’s budget fits into historical perspective, where the money comes from, and how it is allocated among state agencies.(With the Senate’s abrupt adjournment on Friday, some appropriation bills await final passage. The numbers in the fact sheet are based on appropriation bills that have passed both chambers or been voted out of conference committee.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, Louisville, KY negotiated a deal with Kentucky Fried Chicken to have KFC pay to fill in pot holes in exchange for the right to advertise on those potholes. Upon hearing this, the first thought I had was about the ugliness of the advertising that accompanies the over commercialization in our society. However, a few days later, I heard an NPR story about another creative advertising scheme.

“In a cash-strapped Idaho high school, where signs taped near every light switch remind the staff to save electricity, an enterprising teacher has struck a sponsorship deal with a local pizza shop: Every test, handout and work sheet he passes out to his students reads MOLTO’S PIZZA 14″ 1 TOPPING JUST $5 in bright red, inch-high letters printed along the bottom of each page.”

Is it really that bad? Is that really how we want to finance education in this country? We should all be thankful that, in Oklahoma, we haven’t pitted properly funding such a critical public service as education against selling advertising and endorsing something that may not be healthy for our children. Could you imagine if the schools were so underfunded that they relied on the revenue from Coca-Cola or Pepsi to make their budgets? Could you imagine if we, as a community, were so unwilling to pay the necessary amount required to ensure that our next generation was properly educated and healthy that we were willing to allow them to fill their maturing bodies with caffeine and corn syrup and potato chips just so that the school districts could get the revenue from soda companies and vending machines? Let’s be thankful that we have not become that off base in our priorities…or have we?

Recently, I had the opportunity to volunteer with an institution that is a true asset for our state. This is my first year serving as part of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) admissions committee. It certainly will not be my last.

What is OSSM? In short, it is one of the economic engines that is helping build Oklahoma’s future. It is a statewide public school for students in the 11th and 12th grade who are gifted in Math and Science…really gifted! You should have seen some of their test scores.

According to the OSSM website:

The Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM) was created through legislative action in 1983 and graduated its first class of 44 seniors from across the state in 1992. It is designed as a two-year residential public high school for the academically gifted students in mathematics and science.
The school currently has 71 juniors, 63 seniors and an ultimate enrollment estimated at 300.

The late Dr. Julian Stanley of Johns Hopkins University, a nationally known expert on gifted education, called the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, “the most rigorous academic program of its kind in the nation.” here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Federal agencies are releasing information and guidance on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) at a fast and furious pace.  The Department of Education has a webpage that has detailed information on each of the major funding streams for education, including Title I (funding for low-income students), IDEA (special education), and the state fiscal stabilization fund. The Department articulates the basic principles guiding the education funds in the stimulus bill:

Principles: The overall goals of the ARRA are to stimulate the economy in the short term and invest in education and other essential public services to ensure the long-term economic health of our nation. The success of the education part of the ARRA will depend on the shared commitment and responsibility of students, parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, education boards, college presidents, state school chiefs, governors, local officials, and federal officials. Collectively, we must advance ARRA’s short-term economic goals by investing quickly, and we must support ARRA’s long-term economic goals by investing wisely, using these funds to strengthen education, drive reforms, and improve results for students from early learning through college. Four principles guide the distribution and use of ARRA funds: Read the rest of this entry »