EDMOND — State Rep. Marian Cooksey and state Sen. Clark Jolley, both R-Edmond, deserve kudos for persistence and common sense.
The pair of local legislators recently successfully shepherded Senate Bill 749 through the legislative process. This legislation allows school districts to pay for maintenance and license fees for existing software packages, associated hardware and software for training out of bond funds instead of requiring the annual fees to come out of operational budgets.
“Currently, district bonds are used by schools to purchase items such as textbooks, uniforms and computer software, but schools were having to purchase license agreements for the computer software out of their general funding,” Cooksey stated in a press release. “This is a small but important way to help our schools during this downturn in our economy.”
SB 749 originally was filed last legislative session and was carried over to this year. The House passed it 68-31. Gov. Brad Henry signed the legislation into law Feb. 5.
Edmond Public Schools stands to benefit from the legislation as does every other district statewide. As budgets continue to get squeezed, moving items out of the general funding bucket may mean keeping jobs for teachers and staff. More than 90 percent of Edmond’s operational budget goes directly to salaries, leaving few dollars for extras. Easing up on this expense, which can be anywhere from 15-18 percent of an original purchase price of several hundred thousand dollars in a district the size of Edmond, means a significant savings in operation costs.
The district is still paying out the money, but allowing more items to be considered from the bond fund is a clever way of helping our school districts stay in business for another year. Thanks to both these legislators for listening to our public schools and finding a way to help them manage a tight budget.
Our View
Senate bill aids schools
2-17 Editorial: our view
- Our View
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OUR VIEW: Feb. 14 vote about ideas
If you read any of the letters to the editor in the past two weeks regarding Tuesday’s District 2 Edmond school board race, then you already know that this election is not about the individual candidates so much as it’s about what type of school board do Edmond residents really want governing their school district?
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OUR VIEW: Bright spots highlight 2011
Last year was mostly marked with grim economic news and continued worries for the future by most individuals and businesses. However, there were several bright spots that highlighted 2011 and they are good examples why Edmond continues to weather the nation’s economic storms better than most.
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City still needs a business navigator
At the outset of her first term in office, then-Mayor Patrice Douglas appointed a task force dedicated to helping the City of Edmond better understand the needs of small businesses in our city. This task force met for several months and released a number of recommendations for how the city could better serve this huge sector of its economy.
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OUR VIEW: It’s time to bring ME’s office to Edmond
The exhumation of Dwite Morgan’s body earlier this month by state and local authorities is a travesty and symbolizes what has been wrong with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office.
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OUR VIEW: HOPE needs your help
Stories like the one shared today by Oneka Parker on page A1 are both troubling and uplifting at the same time. It’s a stark realization that so many Edmond residents find themselves in crisis and in need of basic, everyday supplies. But it’s a blessing to know that someplace like the nonprofit HOPE Center exists to help residents like Parker.
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Our View: Sustainment center good news for Tinker
The Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base will now be a command site for a new Air Force sustainment and logistics center. Other changes include adding a three-star general that oversees operations at Tinker and two other Air Force bases.
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Our View: DHS needs an overhaul
A recent conviction of an Edmond foster mother has added fuel to the angry fire of scorn heaped at Oklahoma’s child welfare system. The system has been rocked by multiple recent failures ending in the loss of very young, innocent lives entrusted to either the state’s care or supervision.
In the case of Amy L. Holder, she was convicted of felony child abuse and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine plus a $10,000 assessment to the victim’s compensation fund with no jail time in the death of 2-year-old Naomi Whitecrow. Family members of the victim seethed with anger at how the system failed their young relative. -
Peters exemplifies service
This Friday is special for more than just a national commemoration of Veterans Day. It also will mark the induction of Edmond resident Oren Lee Peters and eight other military veterans into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. The annual banquet will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Oklahoma Christian University. The ceremony also will posthumously honor 14 Comanche code talkers who made pivotal contributions to encoding communications during World War II.
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OUR VIEW: Brain gain plan needs to start earlier
Gov. Mary Fallin came to the University of Central Oklahoma campus along with State Superintendent Janet Barresi in September and touted her new “brain gain” initiative. The goal of the new program is to increase the 30,500 college degrees conferred annually now by 67 percent to 50,900 degrees annually by the year 2023.
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Our View: Time to look at what’s next
With voter confidence strongly behind city leaders, the Public Safety Center project can now move to the planning stage.
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OUR VIEW: Feb. 14 vote about ideas
