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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. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
A year after Oklahoma educators traveled to the state Capitol seeking more classroom funding and better salaries, teachers and their supporters plan to renew those demands with another massive Capitol rally, this time joined by State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister. Oklahoma gained one spot to claim the fourth lowest average teacher salary in the nation, not because teachers are earning significantly more, but because the average salary in Idaho went down. The okeducationtruths blog wrote that the Oklahoma Legislature’s attacks on education keep coming. Come next fall, school districts across the state will have the opportunity to bring in professional chefs to work with their child nutrition staffs on preparing meals that will appeal to students while adhering to new federal regulations.
In a Tulsa World op-ed, David Blatt shared seven things Oklahoma can do to balance the state budget without doing more damage to our health, safety, or economic well-being. Craig General Hospital in Vinita has become the seventh rural Oklahoma hospital to declare bankruptcy in the past five years. OK Policy previously discussed how Oklahoma’s refusal to accept federal funds for health coverage is devastating rural hospitals. The Oklahoman editorial board wrote that a move toward smarter corrections-related policies is underway in Oklahoma. On any given day, more than 100 people diagnosed with a mental illness sit in Oklahoma’s county jails awaiting treatment.
On April 9, the University of Tulsa will host economist Dean Baker for a lecture titled “Inequality in American Society – Should We Blame the Market?” A former chief administrator of the state Workers Compensation Court says the new system adopted last year is among the worst in the country for injured workers. An NPR investigation showed how injured workers suffer as “reforms” limit Workers’ Compensation benefits. Former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys is under fire for comments he made on a local television broadcast saying the Putnam City schools once had a better gene pool.
The rate of American Indians diagnosed with HIV or AIDS nearly doubled in one year, state Health Department data shows. The OK Policy Blog previously shared a Q&A on HIV and AIDS in Oklahoma. The Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation responded to the tribal council’s vote of no confidence in a two-page letter Friday. A sense of despair has settled over efforts to get enough funding from the Legislature to open the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum. New data released Tuesday by the Oklahoma Employment Securities Commission shows that state has lost about 500 energy industry jobs between December 2014 and January 2015.
The Number of the Day is the decrease in eligible voter turnout in Oklahoma from 2010 to 2014. In today’s Policy Note, Vox shared 4 charts that show how race makes a difference in the lives of working families.
In The News
Superintendent Hofmeister to join March 30 education rally
A year after Oklahoma educators traveled to the state Capitol seeking more classroom funding and better salaries, teachers and their supporters plan to renew those demands with another massive Capitol rally. This time, they will have a new ally: Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister. Two months after being sworn in, the former public school teacher and ex-state Board of Education member, Hofmeister plans to add her voice to the thousands of teachers, school administrators and parents expected at the March 30 rally.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Report Shows Little Change In Average Oklahoma Teacher Pay
Oklahoma gained one spot to claim the fourth lowest average teacher salary in the nation, not because teachers are earning significantly more, but because the average salary in Idaho went down. The National Education Association report released earlier this week showed Oklahoma’s average teacher salary was $44,373 in 2012-2013, ahead of only South Dakota and Mississippi.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
Legislature’s attacks on education keep coming
Most of us can’t carry the flag into battle for or against every piece of legislation that affects public schools in this state, so we focus on the ones that matter the most to us. Maybe we think, stopping vouchers would be half the battle, or reducing testing would be half the battle. I’ve tweeted about other issues, but I have to pick my fights. In the process, if I’m lucky, I’m focused on half the battle. Our friendly Oklahoma Legislature, on the other hand, has time to focus on all the battle.
Read more from okeducationtruths.
State Education Department’s Cooking for Kids program almost ready to launch
Come next fall, school districts across the state will have the opportunity to bring in professional chefs to work with their child nutrition staffs on preparing meals that will appeal to students while adhering to new federal regulations. The Oklahoma State Department of Education has partnered with Oklahoma State University’s nutritional sciences department to roll out Cooking for Kids, a program that will provide culinary training to school nutrition professionals.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
David Blatt: Seven things Oklahoma can do to balance its budget without damaging health, safety or economic well-being
Oklahoma’s huge budget shortfall this year is the result of both falling gas prices and past policy choices that have weakened revenue collections and left less money available for appropriation by lawmakers. Officials projects give lawmakers $611 million less for next year compared to this year. The shortfall is only the latest in a prolonged budget crisis since the last recession.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Vinita’s Craig General Hospital declares bankruptcy, the latest in a string of rural hospitals to do so
Craig General Hospital has become the latest rural Oklahoma hospital to declare bankruptcy with a Chapter 9 filing Feb. 25 in the Northern District of Oklahoma U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Craig General was opened in 1963 and now has 62 beds and employs about 330 people, according to the documents. Craig General is the seventh rural Oklahoma hospital to declare bankruptcy in the past five years.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: Rejecting federal funds is devastating Oklahoma’s rural hospitals from the OK Policy Blog.
Bills represent some steps in the right direction on Oklahoma criminal justice reform
The move toward smarter corrections-related policies is a slow one in Oklahoma, although it is indeed underway, as House Speaker Jeff Hickman points out. Before he became speaker last year, Hickman, R-Fairview, spoke of the need to ease the prison population because conditions are unsafe for inmates and corrections officers.
See also: Every sentence is a life sentence: 3 barriers to life after prison from the OK Policy Blog.
Tulsa County sheriff wants inmate competency evaluations done in jail
On any given day, more than 100 people diagnosed with a mental illness sit in Oklahoma’s county jails awaiting treatment. At least that many inmates, or more, languish in jail cells awaiting competency hearings. It’s a huge, heart-wrenching problem that has plagued the state for years, and the situation is only getting worse, the stories uglier.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Upcoming Event: “Inequality – Should We Blame the Market?” with Dean Baker
The University of Tulsa will host economist Dean Baker for the Lectureship in Politics and Law on Thursday, April 9th, at 7:00 p.m. Dean Baker is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is titled “Inequality in American Society – Should We Blame the Market?”
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Former workers comp head says new system shortchanges those injured on the job
A former chief administrator of the state Workers Compensation Court says the new system adopted last year is among the worst in the country for injured workers. “My bottom line is simple,” said Michael Clingman, who ran the Workers Compensation Court from 2011 to 2014 and was head of the Arkansas Workers Compensation system in the mid-1990s. “They said they wanted a simpler system without lawyers that would benefit workers. So why the benefit cut?”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: Injured Workers Suffer As ‘Reforms’ Limit Workers’ Compensation Benefits from NPR/ProPublica.
Kirk Humphreys responds to Blue Nation Review’s criticism
Former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys is under fire from a self-described progressive news website after comments he made on a local television broadcast saying the Putnam City schools once had a better gene pool. Humphreys responded Friday saying his remarks were not racially motivated and were based on economics.
See also: VIDEO: University of Oklahoma Regent Thinks His City Once Had a More Superior Gene Pool from Blue Nation Review
Rate of HIV, AIDS among American Indians is on the rise
The rate of American Indians diagnosed with HIV or AIDS nearly doubled in one year, state Health Department data shows. Lisa Toahty, a prevention specialist at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic, said the reason for this increase is multifaceted. Toahty said American Indians rank second in the number of people who die from the disease.
See also: On World AIDS Day, a Q&A about HIV and AIDS in Oklahoma from the OK Policy Blog.
Creek Chief: Tribal Council Exceeds Authority With ‘No Confidence’ Vote
The Principal Chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation responded to the tribal council’s vote of no confidence in a two-page letter Friday. This came after the National Council held an emergency meeting and handed down a vote of no confidence in Tiger Thursday. Tiger claims that under the Nation’s laws, the National Council Resolution is not permitted to be a political platform for the National Council to speak on Executive Branch matters.
Optimism is fading over fate of American Indian Cultural Center in Oklahoma City
A sense of despair has settled over efforts to open the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum. Overseen by a state agency, the partially completed center rests on prime riverfront property deeded to the state by Oklahoma City. Despite having spent about $91 million, Oklahoma legislators have been unable to agree on how to raise an additional $40 million, the state’s share of the estimated $80 million needed to complete the center.
Oklahoma Loses 500 Mining-Oil Industry Jobs
New data released Tuesday by the Oklahoma Employment Securities Commission shows that state has lost about 500 mining industry jobs between December 2014 and January 2015. Even though the mining sector reported a 0.8-percent decline in employment during that time, the sector grew by 4.7 percent.
Quote of the Day
“I agree we were high compared to states like Texas and Arkansas, but that was because they cut their benefits. But even those states would never dream of doing what we’re doing.”
– Michael Clingman, chief administrator of the Workers Compensation Court from 2011 to 2014. Clingman said last year’s workers comp reforms reduced some benefits by as much as 90 percent, and the state’s workers comp system is now among the worst in the country for injured workers (Source).
Number of the Day
22%
Decrease in eligible voter turnout in Oklahoma from 2010 to 2014
Source: Nonprofit VOTE.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
4 charts that show how race makes a difference in the lives of working families
American working families aren’t all in the same boat: among this group, white and Asian families are doing much better than families made up of other minorities, new findings show. A recent report by the the Working Poor Families Project, which examined new Census Bureau data, also found that some of the fastest-growing minority groups — like Latino Americans — are also the most vulnerable when it comes to economic well-being.
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