Quotes of the Day

“At that age, it is really hard to get started in life if you don’t have transportation. This is a creative way to help these kids get something absolutely essential to success.”

-Sheree Powell, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, speaking about a program by the Sand Springs Children’s Home to provide matching dollars for residents to buy their first car [Source: Tulsa World]

“Making Pell grants available again to prisoners makes sense in another way — about nine out of 10 inmates will eventually be released. Why not provide them the opportunity to improve their chances once they re-enter society?”

-The Oklahoman editorial board, calling on Congress to end a ban on Pell Grants so that incarcerated people could afford to take college classes while in prison [Source: NewsOK]

“I think it’s immoral to require a district attorney to be a fee collector to keep my doors open. The fact that I have to collect a fee from somebody I’m prosecuting and putting on probation, I shouldn’t have to be put in that spot. My job should be public safety and applying facts to law.”

-Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, calling on Oklahoma to reduce reliance on court fees to fund district attorney offices [Source: Tulsa World]

“So, the $600 million to $700 million revenue growth could shrink to $250 million to $400 million. That’s still a decent sum of money but not quite the golden ticket that offers all you can eat at the chocolate factory”

-OK Policy Executive Director David Blatt, speaking about next year’s budget outlook for Oklahoma [Source: Public Radio Tulsa]

“In Oklahoma, 12 percent of adults over the age of 18 functioned at the below basic literacy level and 31 percent of adults were at the basic literacy level. That is showing we are doing better than the national numbers in getting people to the next level, but we area still struggling with a higher-than-average amount of Oklahomans who only have basic literacy skills.”

-Leslee Gulders, administrator of state literacy programs for Oklahoma [Source: Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise]

“It’s really important for our leadership to know in Washington it’s affecting people all the way down to the street, to our formerly chronically homeless individuals — people affected by serious mental illness, many of them veterans.”

-Mental Health Association Oklahoma Executive Director Mike Brose, discussing how their supportive housing program is short $61,000 this month because they are not receiving federal grants during the government shutdown [Source: Public Radio Tulsa]

“I’m just a person from here who believes in education and wants to serve. I can’t sit idly at home anymore waiting for politicians to figure it out. I have value to give society and I gain back a lot more than I give.”

-Tracy Vargas, a furloughed federal employee in Oklahoma who has been working as a substitute teacher during the government shutdown [Source: NewsOK]

“We also know that in three years, 9,000 teachers are eligible for retirement so it’s not just a one-time fix. But ultimately over the course of the next several years if we don’t make some of these needed changes, we’re going to be facing an even worse situation that we’re currently in right now.”

-Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City,  who is seeking to put a state question on the ballot that would allow legislators to return to teaching immediately after leaving office. Currently they are prohibited from accepting any job paid with state dollars for the first two years after leaving. [Source: KFOR]

“As a pediatrician, I fear the ramifications of work requirements on my families. I fear for my patients in rural Oklahoma, where job opportunities are scarce but where more people depend on SoonerCare. I fear for my single mothers who could be forced into suboptimal childcare solutions to try to work more hours. I fear for a father, once the head of the household and now unemployed and unable to work after a massive stroke. And I fear for my pediatric patients with chronic illnesses who may not be disabled but who require constant care from a parent.”

-Edmond pediatrician Savannah Stumph, writing about Oklahoma’s push to terminate SoonerCare coverage for parents who don’t correctly report their work hours. [Source: NewsOK] You can make a public comment on this proposal through Friday, Jan. 18 by going to oksays.com.

“For years, rural, suburban, and urban parents across Oklahoma have been united in their request for an investment in public education. We want to build on the first steps which were taken during the last legislative session and look forward to working with our elected leaders to create the education system every Oklahoma student deserves.”

Jenks school board member Melissa Abdo, speaking about the new Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee that is uniting grassroots parent organizations across the state [Source: Tulsa World]