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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.
The Republican and Democratic contenders to become Oklahoma’s state superintendent both are endorsing pay raises for teachers and a reduction in the number of tests public school students must take every year. The Oklahoman editorial board called for scrutinizing the salaries of superintendents in Oklahoma school districts. A state Senate interim study looked at giving Oklahoma’s Statewide Virtual Charter School Board authority over certifying virtual courses for all Oklahoma school districts to alleviate the teacher shortage. The OK Policy Blog discussed how Oklahoma still employs hundreds fewer workers than before the recession, even though the recession has ended and state population has grown significantly.
Tulsa County commissioners voted to approve increases in what it charges the city of Tulsa to hold its inmates in the Tulsa Jail. Tulsa County’s interim information technology director instructed at least four county employees to destroy a document critical of his conflict of interest in selecting an IT management company for the county. Law officers are discussing ways to increase collection of DNA samples from Oklahomans convicted of misdemeanors. The OK Policy Blog previously discussed how indiscriminate DNA testing can actually lead to charges and convictions against innocent Oklahomans.
OK Policy Executive Director David Blatt and four other Tulsa-area leaders will receive the inaugural Dan Allen Awards for social justice. NewsOK examined the state Senate race between incumbent Ralph Shortey, who has sponsored some of the most anti-immigrant proposals in the legislature, and immigration attorney Michael Brooks-Jimenez. A need for bilingual teachers in Oklahoma City Public Schools has district officials going to Puerto Rico to conduct interviews. Rogers County recently added a translation service to its E911 Dispatch Center to help non-English speaking callers. The University of Oklahoma is under federal investigation for a dog electrocution citation, among other animal welfare violations in university research labs.
The Number of the Day is the estimated number of unmarried, same-sex couples living together in Oklahoma before same-sex marriage was legalized. In today’s Policy Note, Al Jazeera America looks at the human cost of Texas’ refusal to expand Medicaid.
In The News
Superintendent Candidates Endorse Teacher Pay Hike
The Republican and Democratic contenders to become Oklahoma’s top education official both are endorsing pay raises for teachers and a reduction in the number of tests public school students must take every year. Longtime educator and Democratic nominee John Cox and former Board of Education member and Tulsa Republican Joy Hofmeister squared off at a public forum Monday before more than 150 people, mostly students, at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.
Pay of Oklahoma school superintendents is an issue that merits scrutiny
State Reps. Todd Thomsen and Lee Denney are outraged that a school superintendent in Oklahoma is earning a very healthy salary. To which we respond: They’re just now noticing this? Thomsen, R-Ada, and Denney, R-Cushing, note that John Cox, superintendent of the Peggs district in Cherokee County, is paid $141,678. The state average for superintendents is $76,424, based on figures from the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability. Apparently, Oklahomans are supposed to think it coincidental that these GOP lawmakers became concerned about superintendent pay only weeks before the election for state schools superintendent.
Senate Discusses Expanding Virtual Coursework
The Legislature may add responsibilities to the Statewide Vitural Charter School Board in the form of oversight of virtual course selection for Oklahoma school districts through potential legislation, Sen. Gary Stanislawski said Monday. Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, said in an Interim Study S14-23 evaluating virtual courses offered in schools that he is considering proposed legislation to increase online coursework available to Oklahoma students.
State workforce still at critically low levels
Despite four years of solid economic growth, Oklahoma’s state budget has never recovered fully from the last recession. While total state appropriations are slightly above pre-downturn levels, the FY 2015 budget is $680 million, or 7.9 percent, below FY 2009 when adjusted for inflation. Most agencies are still 15-30 percent below pre-recession funding levels. The deep recession and continued tight funding has had an especially heavy impact on agency workforces. Even with slight overall budget increases the past several years, the state’s public sector workforce remains far below pre-recession levels.
Read more from the OK Policy Blog.
County commissioners vote to increase Tulsa Jail fees paid by city
Tulsa County commissioners voted 3-0 on Monday to approve increases in what it charges the city of Tulsa to hold its inmates in the Tulsa Jail. The new rates call for the city to pay a $118 per inmate booking fee and a daily housing fee of $52.02. The rates take effect Nov. 1. The city currently pays no booking fee and $45 a day to house inmates in the jail. The daily rate increases when the city’s daily inmate count reaches a certain number.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Tulsa County officials told to delete documents, text indicates
Tulsa County’s interim information technology director on Saturday instructed at least four county employees to shred, destroy and delete a document critical of his role in selecting an IT management company for the county, records indicate. Dan Pease’s text message was sent at 7:27 a.m., less than 24 hours after the county received an anonymous “citizen request” stating that Pease has a conflict of interest because he works for one of the firms being considered to operate the county’s Information Technology Department full-time.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Law officers discuss ways to take more DNA samples
Law officers are asking the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation how to best collect genetic material from people convicted of certain misdemeanors and enter the information into a national database. Oklahoma law, since 2009, has allowed police to take DNA samples from people convicted of serious misdemeanors, but the Oklahoman newspaper reported Monday that material has only been taken from a relative few. A meeting has been set for Tuesday so police, sheriffs, district attorneys and judges can discuss how to address the shortcoming.
See also: Indiscriminate DNA testing could put innocent Oklahomans in prison from the OK Policy Blog.
Awards to honor leaders of social justice
Five area leaders in social justice will be recognized for their efforts at an upcoming awards ceremony. The inaugural Dan Allen Awards, sponsored by the Dan Allen Center for Social Justice, will be presented Nov. 6 at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, 1304 N. Kenosha Ave. “The Dan Allen Center created its awards program to encourage those who are working for social justice in our community, to inspire others to join the cause and help educate our community about the need for social justice,” said Ed Rossman, center president.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma state Senate District 44 race is a study in contrasts
The state Senate District 44 race in the Oklahoma City area is a study in contrasts. Incumbent Republican Sen. Ralph Shortey, who made headlines by bringing reality TV star “Dog the Bounty Hunter” to the state Capitol and introducing legislation to prevent fetuses from getting in food, sees illegal immigration as the No. 1 problem in the district, which includes a part of southwest Oklahoma City with a large Hispanic population. His Democratic challenger, Michael Brooks-Jimenez, is an immigration attorney who identifies problems with public education and infrastructure as the two biggest issues facing district residents.
Oklahoma City school officials seeking teachers abroad
A need for bilingual teachers in Oklahoma City Public Schools has district officials making an interesting move. This week officials with the district are headed to Puerto Rico to interview potential teachers to fill positions across the district. District officials say a recession in Puerto Rico has left many teachers unemployed. Many of the potential candidates have qualifications Oklahoma City Public Schools have been seeking in order to fill district vacancies.
Rogers County 911 subscribes to language interpretation service
Rogers County recently added a translation service to its E911 Dispatch Center. LanguageLine Solutions, which the county began using last week, offers more than 200 foreign-language interpretation services. Interpreters are available to assist 911 operators with non-English-speaking callers during emergencies. “One call with a foreign-speaking person where we can not interpret the need can cause harm to the caller, and it can cause harm to the responding units,” said Janet Hamilton, Rogers County E911 administrator.
Read more from the the Claremore World.
OU under federal investigation for abusing animals in laboratories
The University of Oklahoma has released a statement after it was announced they are now under federal investigation for a dog electrocution citation, among other violations. An OU research laboratory was cited by the United States Department of Agriculture for electrocuting dogs as a euthanasia method. Additional violations that are being investigated are failure to provide pain relief to multiple animals during experimentation, improper sanitation and insufficient enrichment for a psychologically disturbed monkey, among others.
Quote of the Day
“Teachers that can speak in two languages are a tremendous asset. It creates a special bond between the teacher and the student which helps in the learning process.”
-Shannon Freeman, the Oklahoma City Public Schools’ director of recruiting, speaking about why district officials are conducting interviews in Puerto Rico to fill vacant teaching positions. Almost half of the students in the district speak a language other than English at home (Source: bit.ly/1s0vekI).
Number of the Day
4,667
Estimated number of unmarried, same-sex couples living together in Oklahoma before same-sex marriage was legalized.
Source: Journal of Policy Analysis and Management via Oklahoma Policy Institute.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
The human cost of Texas’ refusal to expand Medicaid
In mid-May, 20-year-old Anissa Rangel’s gums began to bleed. At first she assumed it was related to her gingivitis, but one morning, she woke up in the bedroom that she shares with three siblings and saw her gray nightshirt stained dark red across the shoulder. A month passed before she told her mother that something was wrong. By then, another symptom was visible: purple bruises on her arms and legs. It had happened to her twice before, once as an infant and again in eighth grade. “The first time we brought her in [to the hospital], they called the police on us,” recalls her father, Jose Rangel, a disabled truck driver with gout and a heart condition. It was only later that the doctors diagnosed her with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a platelet deficiency that causes fatigue, bleeding and speckly bruises called petechiae.
Read more from Al Jazeera America.
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