Quotes of the Day

“We’re not going to be as competitive to attract those doctors from the Mayo clinics of the world and from the MD Andersons of the world, if we don’t have a stable health care economy.”

-Chuck Spicer, president and CEO of OU Medical System, on how the budget crisis and proposed Medicaid cuts present a challenge in recruiting doctors to the state (Source)

“The idea that our very own school district is going to take the most essential part of our education away is not only insulting but devastating to the students and teachers that have worked so hard for us to be awarded our international baccalaureate diplomas next spring. I feel as if the state is doing the education system a disservice by not funding it sufficiently, robbing my generation and the next of the educations we deserve.”

-Sophie Trachtenberg, a junior at Classen School of Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City (Source)

“We have an obligation to do better by children who are in child welfare custody. What we see here is this is not a good thing: that foster care becomes a pipeline for homelessness.”

-Connie Schlittler, the Director of the Office of Planning, Research and Statistics for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, on a study showing that 30 percent of children who age out of foster care experience homelessness (Source)

“It’s one of the saddest things that I know about to have to say we’re not going to be able to do that program again. We can’t say much about ourselves as a state if we can’t take care of the children.”

-Western Heights Public Schools Superintendent Joe Kitchens, on news that due to budget cuts, Oklahoma is canceling an in-school social worker program meant to help families in poverty find the resources they need (Source).

“If the state does nothing, up to four out of five Oklahoma hospitals will not deliver babies and more than a dozen Oklahoma hospitals could face closure within a year. Also, nine out of 10 nursing homes would be at risk of closing, dumping more than 16,000 disabled and elderly out on the streets.If we are to live by the Oklahoma Standard, our legislators must be courageous and make sure we look after our most vulnerable – babies and the elderly.”

– Jimmy Leopard, CEO at Wagoner Community Hospital and chairman of the Oklahoma Hospital Association board of trustees, urging support of a proposed $1.50 cigarette tax increase to prevent cuts to the Medicaid program and extend insurance coverage to low-income Oklahomans (Source)

“We can’t wait until the end of the legislative session for a budget because we need answers in order to know what to expect moving forward into the next school year. As we try to make difficult decisions about personnel and programs, we need to have as much information as possible.”

– Jenks Public Schools Superintendent and Tulsa County Area School Administrators President Stacey Butterfield, pressuring the legislature to approve an education budget so districts can plan accurately for the next year (Source)

“This devastating budget situation will cause this generation of students to suffer lost opportunities. School leaders are making life-changing decisions for employees, students and their families, and they’re being forced to do so based on estimates.”

-Ryan Owens, co-executive director of the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration, on the results of a survey of 263 districts about plans to cut school budgets (Source)

“The national education system that developed in the U.S. in the 19th century was different from the systems in other Western societies in three ways: Americans regarded education as a solution to social problems. The power of education led Americans to provide more years of schooling to to more students than other countries. Educational institutions primarily were governed by local authorities than federal ones. Today, Oklahoma lawmakers don’t grasp those three principles of education. Instead, they crusade for lower tax rates to entice more industry to the state. In doing so, they don’t understand these industries require a highly educated and trained workforce.”

-Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise Editorial Board, arguing that legislators have failed the purpose of the education system (Source)

“In Oklahoma, 19.3 percent of the population comprises those 60-plus years of age. It is the fastest-growing segment of the population, projected to double by 2030. If we can’t afford to care for our aged now, what is our plan for the coming years? No matter how much we talk about right-sizing government, this part of the budget is going to grow. We cannot compromise the lives of those on the Medicaid program because of the downturn in the economy or our failure to address the ‘graying’ of Oklahoma.”

-Mary Brinkley, executive director of LeadingAge OK, which represents nonprofit providers of aging services (Source)

“Not only is it not a Medicaid expansion, it moves 175,000 people off the Medicaid rolls in Oklahoma, and ultimately you have some long-term savings from the plan. I think the policy is really intriguing to our members, it’s just ferreting out how to pay for it.”

– House Speaker Jeff Hickman (R-Fairview), on the Oklahoma Health Care Authority’s proposal to extend health coverage to uninsured Oklahomans (Source). OK Policy’s statement on the plan is here.