Quotes of the Day

“This is something that affects every single teacher, bus driver, custodian, and these are folks that not only serve our children directly, but also we know are already inadequately compensated.”

– Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist, on the proposed furloughs that are part of the district’s plan if their appropriation for the next fiscal year is cut as expected (Source) 

“It’s very easy to look at a laundry list of things that exist and say, ‘Cut, cut, cut, cut,’ and say, ‘Well, this is wasteful spending’ without really understanding the true impact. The bottom line is a lot of our citizens depend on those programs.”

-Durant City Manager Tim Rundel, warning of the consequences of deep cuts to federal programs proposed by the Trump administration (Source)

“I oppose this bill [HB 1913] because I’ve seen what it has done to a widow at my church. It has kept her strapped for money. She has not been able to get ahead because of these companies that charge her ridiculous fees for a small amount of money. I served nearly 21 years in the U.S. Regular and Reserve Army and I know that the military does not allow its service members to use these lenders. If the Army cares enough to protect its service members from such a practice why doesn’t our state government demonstrate the same level of concern for its citizens?”

-Davison, one of many Oklahomans who shared their experiences with the debt traps created by predatory lenders (Source)

“We feel if children are going to be taken from their homes, they need to be provided for. The state has a duty to provide children good quality of life if we’re going to take them from their home.”

– Lisa Smith, Director of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, calling on the state to address incidents of violence at DHS group homes. DHS says it is addressing these issues with a new restraint policy focused on behavioral health, but needs more money for mental health care. (Source)

“I would suggest that if we don’t get our budget done pretty soon that we may have to look at having a special session or concurrent session. Certainly if we cut to where our agencies that are critical to core services are hemorrhaging, I am willing to look at vetoing a plan if it is not going to take care of the critical core services that I think our citizens demand that we take care of in our state.”

– Gov. Mary Fallin, urging lawmakers to develop a workable state budget before the Legislature adjourns on May 26 (Source)

“I am very frustrated with this Legislature. As a Republican, I believe in small government, but I also believe we do have a revenue problem. As chairman of the Human Services Committee for five years, I’ve seen that suffering you talk about, and I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.” 

– Rep. Pat Owenby (R-Ardmore), bringing HB 2342, which would award the state Department of Human Services a $34 million supplemental appropriation, to the House floor. The measure passed unanimously (Source)

“The sad thing about this list of budget options is that we serve people who are even more vulnerable. They are not on the list because they are so vulnerable, they would be on the street or their lives would be in danger without services. But we are reaching a point where if we keep cutting so deep, we will get to where we are cutting into child welfare, safety and placement services. Cuts would limit options for placement.”

-Sheree Powell, DHS state communications director, on the cuts the agency would have to make with a flat funding appropriation this year. They include cuts to early childhood school readiness programs, developmental disability programs, child care subsidies, and in-home services for seniors (Source)

“If Facebook had existed in 1988, my ‘On This Day’ feature would probably include a post about my first teaching position in Fort Worth — a position I accepted because my beloved home state, Oklahoma, was not adequately funding education. On this day in 2017, nearly 30 years later, it seems that not much has changed.”

-Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist, urging lawmakers to fund schools in order to avoid the “heinous” consequences of further cuts to education (Source)

“We’ve got a deficit in this state, and it is not a deficit in resources. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a deficit of will. There are enough resources in this state to do what we need to do with public education, and if the leaders of this state won’t do it, maybe we need to put a Cherokee in charge.”

Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. speaking at the Cherokee Nation’s Annual Public School Appreciation Day.  The Cherokee Nation gave $5 million dollars to Oklahoma public school districts at the event. (Source)

“This sort of approach, ‘when things are bad you cut,’ has worked horribly in many businesses. And it’s exactly what we did in the 1930s. We exacerbated the recession. The indifference to the lives of all these people is really pretty impressive.”

– Oklahoma City University economist Jonathan Willner, on the effects of possible staffing cuts at state agencies as a result of the state’s nearly $900 million shortfall (Source)