Quotes of the Day

“I know as a member of the House that five minutes prior to session at the beginning of a stressful day, when we know there will be contentiousness on the floor, that time of reflection, that time of learning is a great opportunity to hear from persons of all different backgrounds and faiths as we prepare for the difficult work that we do. To exclude people from that process is just wrong. I stand with this group happily and look forward to moving past this discriminatory process to a time where we’ll return to having persons of all faiths speak to us and help us learn from them.”

– Representative Jason Dunnington, speaking on the recent alterations to the House Chaplain program that restricts legislators from nominating chaplains that are not of the same faith tradition as the sponsoring representative. (Source)

“I am struggling to pay my bills. A student graduating from my class can become a QuikTrip full-time employee a year, two years later, making more than me.”

– Larry Cagle, who teaches an Advanced Placement course at Edison Preparatory School in Tulsa and is currently organizing a group of Oklahoma teachers to begin a strike of their own. (Source)

“The walkout in West Virginia has really given educators, teachers, support professionals, a sense of solidarity and a sense of knowing that they need to work together with a unified voice. It really does embolden us to advocate.”

– Alicia Priest, head of the Oklahoma Education Association, on a teacher walkout planned for April 23rd if no teacher pay raise is passed before that date (Source)

“From what we’ve heard, this appears to be a proposal that grows the prison population, albeit by a lesser amount than other prosecutor proposals. Until we see specifics, we’ll be encouraging our leaders to keep pushing for the full task force plan that safely prevents prison growth and puts Oklahoma on a more stable path going forward.”

– Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform Chairman Kris Steele, reacting to an announcement that Gov. Fallin, legislative leaders, and District Attorneys had agreed upon changes to a package of criminal justice reform bills (Source)

“We were so happy we got something done to help with class size and pay. We really did think it was going to help children, and it did for awhile. Then, it just all stopped. It was like no one cared anymore about public schools, the students or teachers. It came to a standstill. We are seeing the same thing happen now as it was in 1990, but it’s getting worse and worse. I’m more determined now to make somebody listen.”

– Patricia Mott, a teacher at Webster High School in Tulsa, who participated in a 1990 rally at the state Capitol that shut down schools for four days (Source)

“We need to take care of Carver and yet we can’t violate law and jeopardize our parental rights with Carver either. So, we were left with the option well, we’ve got to fight.”

– Shawn Jenkins, who is advocating for allowing medical marijuana in Oklahoma to treat his son Carver’s epilepsy [Source].

“I’m in my second year. I’ve lost thirty-one teachers to surrounding states. That’s about ten percent, a little over ten percent of our teachers we’ve lost to surrounding states.”

– Miami Schools Superintendent Jeremy Hogan, speaking on the prospect of losing more teachers following the Governor’s signing of an appropriations bill that cuts two percent from state agencies and schools [Source].

“This is something to be concerned about. It’s just a continuing saga to try to cut, cut, cut without filling core functions of government. Something has to change.”

– Oklahoma Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh, warning legislators that the agency will need at least $12 million in additional funding before July 2018 (Source)

“We are ready, we are willing. We stand on the right side of public education, by being back here and outside our schools tomorrow.”

– Christine Campbell, president of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, speaking at a rally for teachers who are on strike for better pay and benefits in West Virginia. Average teacher pay in West Virginia is about $3,000 per year higher than in Oklahoma (Source)

“Though there are various moral and legal ambiguities in the issue of immigration, there is no ambiguity to ‘Dreamers’. They are in no way at fault. To leave them in the shadows would be morally abhorrent. To deport them would be abhorrent. The only morally acceptable option would be to create a pathway for them to stay here legally and participate fully.”

– Rev. John-Mark Hart of Christ Community Church, whose congregation helped launch El Camino, a coalition of local faith groups seeking to tell the stories of undocumented immigrants (Source)