By James Beaty
The president of the Oklahoma Education Association believes public school students in the state are getting the short end of the ruler when it comes to how much money is spent on each student per year.
To try and change that, the OEA is pushing for a state question that would change the Oklahoma Constitution.
OEA President Roy Bishop is hoping to get 200,000 registered voters to sign a petition calling for a state question on getting more money for education — and he’s hoping to find some of them in the McAlester area.
Bishop, who’s on leave from his job as an eighth grade world geography teacher in Stillwater Public Schools, stopped in McAlester to talk about issues related to the question.
A petition is currently being passed to have the matter added to the ballot as State Question 744.
“We have to get 130,000-plus signatures,” Bishop said. “Our goal is to get 200,000.”
Oklahoma is below other states in the region when it comes to how much is spent to educate each student annually, he said.
The other states to which he’s referring are Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Colorado, New Mexico and Missouri.
“We’re trying to get to the regional average with the other six states in the region,” Bishop said.
“We are dead last in per pupil spending.”
“We spend about $6,900 per student per year,” Bishop said.
The other states spend an average of $8,300, he said.
Bishop acknowledged that the amount Oklahoma spends per pupil each year has risen.
“It’s gone up — but it has not kept up with the other states,” he said.
Bishop said petitions are being passed statewide, by volunteers and paid employees to try and bring the state question to a vote.
Teachers all across the state are collecting signatures as well, he said.
“Some are going through their churches or to after-school events, such as ball games. There are ample opportunities for them to collect signatures.”
OEA spokesman Bruce Tredway said two teachers who will be handling the petition drive in McAlester are Debbie Williams and Bonnie Strickland.
The amount of money to aid education as well as other state services has dropped because of the tax cuts enacted by the state Legislature, Bishop said.
“Last year, we had a standstill budget,” he said. The tax cuts have resulted in a loss of $540 million in growth revenue for the state, according to Bishop.
Last year, there was a $114 million shortfall in meeting needs of all the state’s services — not just those of public education, he said.
If the state had not lost that much money due to tax cuts, or had found a way to replenish it, the state would not be in its current condition, he said.
Bishop is confident that enough signatures will be obtained to move the process farther along.
He’s also confident any challenges to the state question will be met and it will be placed on the ballot — he’s just not sure when.
“The governor will have the option of placing it on the ballot in 2010,” Bishop said. “Or, he can call a special election in 2009.”
Where would the money come from to place Oklahoma into the regional average? Bishop contends there wouldn’t have to be any new taxes and it could come through normal growth.
“We’re not expecting the state to come up with $850 million in the first year,” Bishop said.
“We project that five years from now, there will be an additional $2 billion in state revenue for the state to spend.”
“I’m saying we don’t have to have a new tax for this.”
The OEA contends it’s time for the public school funding issue to be addressed by a state question.
“We typically have a situation where politicians say education will come first — and they don’t come through,” Bishop said.
“Changing the Constitution will make education a priority.”
“For us, this is about kids, their future and our state.”
Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.
