James Coburn
EDMOND — State Rep. Randy McDaniel said he is concerned that State Question 744 is without a funding source.
State Question 744 was one of nine state questions presented at a community forum this week. The event was sponsored by the City of Edmond, the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce and the House District 81 Committee.
An initiative petition supported by the Oklahoma Education Association, SQ 744 would repeal a section of the state Constitution. It would require the state to meet the regional per pupil average for spending in public schools, McDaniel said.
“We estimated that would be an $850 million increase of spending requirement,” said McDaniel, R-Oklahoma City.
A House study last week found that it would take a 40 percent tax increase or a 20 percent hit across the board of every state agency, McDaniel said.
The Oklahoma Education Association was not invited to participate in the forum, said Doug Folks, OEA spokesman.
OEA President Becky Felts told The Edmond Sun that SQ 744 represents a chance for Oklahoma to make education a true priority. She said the state ranks 46th in the U.S. and last in the region in per pupil expenditures, spending about $1,500 less than surrounding states.
“Our children deserve an education every bit as good as what is offered in Arkansas, New Mexico and the other surrounding states,” she said.
McDaniel said the measure does not set any requirements for performance and achievement. Accountability and openness is necessary to ensure Oklahoma has quality schools, he said.
He said there has been some ambiguity of what is the regional average ranging from $7,600 a year by those favoring SQ 744 to nearly $11,000 per student by those opposing the measure. Pension plans and students attending CareerTech need to be counted, he said.
“It is also difficult to tie our hands to the decisions of people who are not elected by Oklahomans, and base our funding on their decisions,” McDaniel said.
The state Legislature has a constitutional requirement to divide the general revenue fund, said Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Oklahoma City. Education currently receives 51 percent of the state’s budget, she said.
“What the OEA, the teachers’ union, is trying to do with this state initiative … is to take that ability away from the Legislature,” Osborn said.
The measure does not direct how the money will be spent by the Department of Education except that it will not be used for building funds, she said.
“There is no guarantee that even $1 will make it to the classroom,” Osborn said.
Felts said the Legislature will have three years to implement the improved funding if voters approve the measure. The state’s economy has grown an average of 5.2 percent a year during the past 25 years, she said.
“That would mean an additional $1.5 billion in revenue by the time SQ 744 is fully implemented,” Felts said. “There will be no need to raise taxes or cut other state agencies.”
State Question 744 will appear on the ballot for consideration on Nov. 2, 2010.
jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114
