Tag: FY ’12 budget

Stuck in a Hole: What flat funding means for the common education budget

After three straight years of budget cuts, funding for public education in Oklahoma is in dire straits.  This year’s appropriation to the Department of Education is $254 million, or 10.0 percent, less than it was in 2009.  In the past… Read more [More...]

Preliminary FY 2013 budget outlook shows continued challenges ahead

Oklahoma’s fiscal situation presents an apparent paradox. We have now seen state tax collections rise for five consecutive quarters and exceed prior year collections by 10.5 percent. At the same time, the state budget is still being cut. This year’s… Read more [More...]

The toll of budget cuts: Programs promoting high-quality teaching and schools under the axe

If Oklahoma is to have any chance of improving our students’ educational performance, we need to support excellence in our teachers and administrators. In recent years, Oklahoma has made such a commitment by investing in research-based professional development programs for… Read more [More...]

Revenue collections finish strong year – but still face a steep upward climb

State Finance Director Preston Doerflinger yesterday announced that June General Revenue (GR) collections came in $78.1 million, or 15.7 percent, above last year and $66.2 million, or 13.0 percent, above the official certified estimate. The June collections brought to an… Read more [More...]

Visualizing where the money goes

Every year during state budget discussions, state leaders speak about prioritizing spending to protect core services. That’s especially true when times are bad and the overall budget pie is shrinking. However, the distribution of that pie among agencies over the… Read more [More...]

Child care cuts deal a blow to low-income working families and kids

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services this week approved changes to the state’s child care subsidy program that  will increase hardships for struggling low-income working families, threaten access to quality child care, and harm child care providers who serve low-income… Read more [More...]

Quick Take: Revenues rebounding but still way down from pre-downturn levels

This week, State Finance Director Preston Doerflinger announced General Revenue (GR) collections for May.  For the month, GR was $36 million, or 9.5 percent, above May 2010 and $25.4 million, or 6.5 percent, above the certified estimate. May collections would… Read more [More...]

Hot off the Presses: Our FY '12 budget highlights

With the 2011 legislative session now wrapped up, we are pleased to release our FY ’12 Budget Highlights, a one-page summary analysis of the budget for the upcoming year, along with eight detailed charts and tables on revenues and appropriations.… Read more [More...]

Don't blame us: Legislature passes the buck while passing the bucks

The budget deal is done, and nearly every state agency is receiving another round of funding reductions. That leaves an important question: what programs will be cut to make up the loss? How cuts are distributed will have a huge… Read more [More...]

In The Know: May 19, 2011

In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs.  Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. E-mail your suggestions for In The Know items to gperry@okpolicy.org. You can sign… Read more [More...]