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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.
CTB/McGraw-Hill, the testing vendor at the center of controversy after two years of statewide testing disruptions, is withdrawing itself from consideration for a new contract for Oklahoma’s winter testing. The state Department of Education had earlier requested CTB/McGraw-Hill be awarded a no-bid contract to administer the testing, but the State Board of Education tabled that recommendation. The Tulsa World examined by many of Oklahoma’s teachers of the year have ended up leaving the classroom. On the OK Policy Blog, we discussed the conservative case for raising the minimum wage.
Gov. Mary Fallin and Democratic challenger Joe Dorman will meet Thursday at Oklahoma State University for their only debate before the Nov. 4 general election. The debate will air live on OETA and stream online at www.oeta.tv. OETA is encouraging viewers to discuss the debate on social media using the hashtag #okvotes14. While most state schools face a rising non-English-speaking Hispanic population, Enid Schools are working with a growing number of students from the Marshal Islands. Enid has the fourth largest concentration of Marshallese nationals in the United States. Tulsa County commissioners voted Monday to set the daily cost to house inmates at the Tulsa Jail.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper arrested earlier this month on accusations that he raped and sexually assaulted three women during traffic stops has resigned from the patrol. A former Wewoka police officer was jailed Monday on charges of statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl multiple times while on duty. The widow of a man who died after a struggle with law enforcement in the Warren Theatre parking lot is suing the City of Moore for $10 million. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is taking over a stalking case from the Rogers County District Attorney’s Office because he is concerned about the victim’s safety. The Oklahoman examined some of what’s faced by the one in three Oklahoma women who experience domestic violence.
KGOU shared audio from a panel on the legacy of Governor Henry Bellmon at OK Policy’s Summer Policy Institute. The Oklahoman shared arguments made in a lawsuit over the state’s latest income tax reduction measure. We previously examined what’s behind the lawsuit on the OK Policy Blog. Severe drought is causing numerous water lines to leak and break in Chickasha. Many of Chickasha’s water lines were laid as long as 80 years ago. Boeing plans to move most of its defense and support-related services from Washington state to cities that include Oklahoma City and St. Louis. The company says about 900 jobs could move to Oklahoma City in three years. Union workers with Spirit AeroSystems voted an overwhelming “no” on a new contract that was presented as a “best and final offer” from company management. Spirit is trying to sell its Tulsa operations which employ 2,300 people, and workers are afraid a sale will mean massive layoffs and loss of benefits. Oklahoma Corporation Commission staff and commissioners revisited their ongoing effort to update decades-old laws and regulations for rapidly changing drilling processes.
The Number of the Day is the median hourly wage for statisticians in Oklahoma. In today’s Policy Note, The Atlantic discusses how police have a much bigger domestic abuse problem than the NFL.
In The News
CTB/McGraw-Hill backs out of consideration for winter testing contract
The testing vendor at the center of controversy after two years of statewide testing disruptions is withdrawing itself from consideration for a new contract for Oklahoma’s winter testing, officials confirmed Monday. The Oklahoma State Board of Education on Thursday tabled a recommendation to award CTB/McGraw-Hill a $2.8 million “sole source,” or no-bid, contract to administer end-of-instruction exams in seven core high school courses and some alternate testing for disabled students during the 2014 winter testing window.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Where are they now: Many state Teachers of the Year leave the classroom
Linda Reid has come a long way — both literally and figuratively — since she was named Oklahoma’s 2007 Teacher of the Year. Back then, Reid was teaching Spanish at Muskogee’s 7th and 8th Grade Center. But upon winning, she found herself spun into the whirlwind tour that envelops those honored with the teacher of the year title. She eventually took a job with the state’s Commission for Teacher Preparation, and last year became the principal at Jenks East Intermediate.
Read more from the Jenks World.
The conservative case for raising the minimum wage
For many working Oklahomans, low-wage jobs aren’t paying enough to support themselves and their families without public assistance. Raising the minimum wage would boost the overall economy while properly shifting the responsibility for ensuring family economic security back towards the private sector and away from government and taxpayers. Oklahoma is a state with a high concentration of low-wage jobs.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
Dorman, Fallin face off in first gubernatorial debate Thursday
Gov. Mary Fallin and Democratic challenger Joe Dorman will meet Thursday at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater for their only debate before the Nov. 4 general election. Both are OSU graduates. Dorman is a state lawmaker from Rush Springs who hit the 12-year term limit threshold. Fallin is seeking a second four-year term as the state’s first female governor. She is a former Oklahoma House member, lieutenant governor and member of Congress.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Enid schools work with a different minority group — Marshall Islanders
Enid’s school district is unique among those in Oklahoma assisting minority groups. While most state schools face a rising non-English-speaking Hispanic population, Enid has an ever-growing Marshal Islands population, one of the few Marshallese population centers in the United States. Enid has the fourth largest concentration of Marshallese nationals in the United States, according to the Marshallese embassy.
County commissioners establish jail inmate cost, add booking fee
Tulsa County commissioners voted Monday to set the daily cost to house inmates at the Tulsa Jail at $52.02. The commissioners also voted to set a booking fee of $118 per inmate. Commissioners said the set cost would not necessarily be the rate that the county charges municipalities to hold inmates at the facility, but it is intended to establish a baseline. “That’s a basis we have to start,” County Commissioner Ron Peters said. “If you’re trying to get someone to pay for services rendered, you have to know what your costs are.”
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma state trooper accused of rape resigns
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper arrested earlier this month on accusations that he raped and sexually assaulted three women during traffic stops has resigned from the patrol, according to OHP Capt. George Brown. Brown said Eric Roberts’ resignation letter arrived late Thursday and was processed Friday. Roberts has not been charged, though a document released this month by the Creek County District Attorney’s Office outlined three traffic stops that Roberts made this summer where he allegedly sexually assaulted women.
See more from the Tulsa World.
Former Wewoka police officer accused of sexually assaulting 15-year-old while on duty
A former Wewoka police officer was jailed Monday on charges of having sex with an underage girl multiple times while on duty, officials confirmed. The state Attorney General’s Office began an investigation April 15 into allegations that Trever Blackwell, 30, had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl while she was in the department’s Explorer program in 2011, court records show.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Family files claim for $10 million in Moore theater death
The widow of a man who died after a struggle with law enforcement in the Warren Theatre parking lot has filed a tort claim against Moore, requesting compensation of $10 million or the maximum allowed by law, documents show. Attorney Kenyatta Bethea filed the document, dated Wednesday, on behalf of the family of Luis Rodriguez. His Feb. 15 death was ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner, the result of a cardiac arrhythmia brought on by physical restraint. Bethea said a private autopsy found Rodriguez’s death was caused by asphyxia.
Oklahoma AG Takes Over Prosecution Of Stalking Case From Rogers County DA
A News on 6 report prompted the Oklahoma State Attorney General to do something he’s never done before — to take over prosecution of a local case. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said he took the case away from the Rogers County District Attorney’s Office because it was so concerned about the victim’s safety. When we interviewed Kathy Higgins in June, she was afraid she was going to die.
One in three women in Oklahoma will face domestic violence
In the U.S., domestic violence is reported to police thousands of time every day, but sometimes it takes high-profile cases, such as the video showing former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking out his fiancee, to thrust the matter into a national spotlight. Lately, several popular sports figures have been accused of domestic abuse. Amid the focus on these allegations, one well-known victim of domestic violence is sharing her story.
Colleagues Reflect On Gov. Henry Bellmon’s Education Legacy
Oklahoma’s first Republican governor is considered an architect of the state’s hallmark education movement. Both opponents and allies of Henry Bellmon described him as the moving force for the 1990 passage of House Bill 1017 that mandated better teacher pay, smaller class sizes and curriculum reform. Bellmon’s two non-consecutive terms as Oklahoma’s chief executive bookended 12 years in the U.S. Senate and a short term as the campaign manager for Richard Nixon’s 1968 successful presidential run.
See also: Summer Policy Institute.
Fate of Oklahoma tax reduction bill could rest on a single word — ‘raise’
The fate of an income tax reduction measure approved by the Oklahoma Legislature last session may rest on a single word — raise. Attorney Jerry Fent contends in his lawsuit, which will be the subject of a state Supreme Court hearing Oct. 14, that the word means collect, or gather, and when used in the context of taxation triggers a series of conditions for the way such legislation must be approved. The state contends the word means increase and since the law at issue decreases taxes, it need not meet these conditions and was therefore handled appropriately by lawmakers and is constitutional.
See also: Definition of two small words could have large consequences from the OK Policy Blog.
Oklahoma drought takes toll on Chickasha’s aging water infrastructure
As the city’s water supply sits several feet below normal levels, a severe drought is taking a toll on Chickasha’s water supply in a different way. Water line crews have been hard at work all summer repairing city water lines that have broken because of a combination of age and damage cause by drought. Many of Chickasha’s water lines were laid as much as 80 years ago, making them susceptible to leaks and breaks, said Chickasha City Manager Stewart Fairburn. As severe drought has taken hold in Grady County, dry, shifting soil has caused the city’s aging water lines to leak and break.
Boeing To Add Jobs In Oklahoma City
Boeing plans to move most of its defense and support-related services from Washington state to cities that include Oklahoma City and St. Louis. Boeing said Monday the moves are part of efforts to improve the competitiveness of the Boeing Defense, Space & Security unit. The company says about 900 jobs could move to Oklahoma City and up to 500 to St. Louis in about three years.
After heated meeting, Spirit AeroSystems workers vote down contract
Union workers with Spirit AeroSystems voted an overwhelming “no” on a new contract involving the company’s Gulfstream work on Sunday. The contract was presented with a title “best and final offer.” Spirit AeroSystems employs 2,300 people in Tulsa, many of whom are represented by the United Aerospace Workers Local 952. Spirit is trying to sell its Tulsa operations, which include some of the Gulfstream work. Many are afraid a sale will mean massive layoffs and that remaining workers will lose a lot of their benefits.
Regulators consider drilling rule changes in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Corporation Commission staff and commissioners Friday revisited their ongoing effort to update decades-old laws and regulations for rapidly changing drilling processes. Friday’s discussion focused on the state’s forced pooling law, which allows wells to be drilled if most — but not all — interest owners want the project to continue and if the majority can convince the corporation commissioners to approve their plan.
Quote of the Day
“Tax bills such as SB 1246 reducing taxes for a particular class of taxpayers, specifically those persons with the top marginal income tax rate, has the effect of shifting the tax burden to other taxpayers.”
-Community Action Project Executive Director Steven Dow, writing in an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit challenging Oklahoma income tax cuts, because they were approved without the 3/4ths majority required for a revenue bill (Source: http://bit.ly/1oumqDC)
Number of the Day
$26.42
The median hourly wage for statisticians in Oklahoma.
Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
Police Have a Much Bigger Domestic Abuse Problem Than the NFL
Should the National Football League suspend or ban any player caught assaulting a wife or girlfriend? That seems to be the conventional wisdom since video emerged of running back Ray Rice knocking his wife unconscious in an elevator, even as reports surface that many more NFL players have domestic-abuse records. While I have no particular objection to a suspension of any length for such players, the public focus on NFL policy seems strange and misplaced to me.
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