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What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know.
This Week from OK Policy
This week on the OK Policy Blog, Policy Director Gene Perry explained, in two charts, why Oklahoma teachers need a raise. Perry also created detailed maps showing how much per pupil funding Oklahoma school districts receive, and why.
In his Journal Record column, Executive Director David Blatt wrote that short-sighted cuts to alternative education will create long-term costs. Blatt previously discussed the topic in a blog post. Steve Lewis’s Capitol Update described how Oklahoma’s long journey to child welfare reform is getting longer.
Upcoming Opportunities
- In October, we’ll be hosting two Fall Policy Boot Camps (FallPol), one-day policy trainings on the state budget, criminal justice reform, poverty, and other critical policy issues affecting our state, as well as breakout sessions on a range of topics. FallPol Tulsa will be held at OSU-Tulsa on Friday, October 14, and FallPol Edmond will be held at Oklahoma Christian University on Saturday, October 15. Further details, including agendas, can be found here.
- We’re pleased to welcome author Tamara Draut to discuss her recent book, Sleeping Giant: How the New Working Class Will Transform America, in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. On Wednesday, October 5, at7pm, Draut will discuss the book at the Woody Guthrie Center with BookSmart Tulsa. Click here to learn more and RSVP. On Thursday, October 6th, Draut will be the featured speaker at the Central Oklahoma Community Forum’s 2016 Labor-Religion luncheon at 11:30am at Fairview Baptist Church (1700 Northeast 7th Street, Oklahoma City). Lunch will be served free of charge, but space is limited. You must register in advance no later than Thursday, September 29th, by calling Linda Smith at (405) 634-4030 or by emailing cocforum@sbcglobal.net. Learn more about both events here.
OK Policy in the News
The Enid News discussed Perry’s per pupil funding blog post. KFOR summarized our post (here) on new Census Bureau data on poverty and the uninsured. Blatt spoke to NewsOK regarding energy tax policy. Policy Analyst Ryan Gentzler spoke to Take Part on the history of criminal justice reform in Oklahoma. NonDoc pointed voters to our 2016 State Questions information.
Weekly What’s That
Ballot Title
Every State Question, or ballot measure, in Oklahoma must include a ballot title that will appear on every voter’s ballot. Oklahoma law (Title 34, Section 9) specifies that the ballot title must fairly and accurately describe the measure in 200 words or less. In addition, it must be free of jargon, be written at an eighth grade reading level, and clearly represent the effect of a “yes” vote and a “no” vote. Read more.
Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here.
Quote of the Week
“I’m pushing for not only a march or a meeting, I’m pushing for a seat at the table where we can affect change in the policies and the culture of the police versus the community.”
-Rodney Goss, a pastor at the Morning Star Baptist Church in north Tulsa, speaking about the African-American community’s response to the police shooting of Terence Crutcher (Source).
Editorial of the Week
Governor Fallin, The Washington Times
Oklahoma’s drug laws haven’t deterred substance abuse. Though well intentioned, they have often sent nonviolent offenders to prison for years, where they live alongside violent offenders whose bad influences can make them better criminals rather than better citizens. Obviously, this is bad news for our entire state, for when these people get out of prison, they will likely return to crime. And that’s not making us safer.
It’s imperative that we modernize our justice system to change this dynamic and provide meaningful help to break the cycle of addiction that is tearing families apart. We can do this without jeopardizing public safety.
Numbers of the Day
- 13.9 percent – Oklahoma’s uninsured rate in 2015, third highest in the U.S. behind only Texas and Alaska.
- 502 – Number of opioid overdose deaths in Oklahoma in 2014.
- 12th – Oklahoma’s ranking for the percentage of funding of PreK-12 public schools that comes from the federal government (11.4%).
- $7,711 – How much Oklahoma’s average teacher salary dropped between the 2009-2010 and 2015-2016 school years, adjusted for inflation.
- 1,827 – Number of Oklahoma public school students with disabilities who were subject to corporal punishment 2011-2012, 1,528 of whom were male
See previous Numbers of the Day and sources here.
What We’re Reading
- Moms are filling American jails [Washington Post]
- How Expanding Medicaid Can Lower Insurance Premiums for All [New York Times]
- The Underestimation of America’s Preschool Teachers [The Atlantic]
- How ranked-choice voting could make voters more open to third-party candidates [PBS]
- More grandparents are raising grandchildren. Here’s how to help them: [Hechinger Report]
