SQ 744

Forewarning this is a serious post...

Recently in my Early Childhood Education Capstone class (the final class) we discussed State Question 744 aka SQ 744. As a future teacher SQ 744 would of course affect the education system greatly in the state of Oklahoma. Now even though I won't be teaching in Oklahoma I still feel that I should have say, and although I can't vote on this issue I am hoping that those who can vote will truly read the facts before you hit the voting booth.

SQ 744 is a proposal by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) that would force the state to spend nearly a billion dollars more on education by cutting all other state agencies or raise your taxes by the same amount. State Question (SQ) 744 amends the Oklahoma Constitution and guarantees that the Oklahoma Legislature annually will provide an amount of funding for public schools that is at least equal to the average of the amount spent per pupil by the states surrounding Oklahoma (Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado). In lamens terms the states surrounding OK spend more per child, and OK feels the need to compete with that. Now as a future educator of course I want the state to spend more money per child because that means the children of OK will be receiving a better education overall. But.......

The state doesn't have the funds to support this proposal so in order to finance it the state would have to cut 20% from each state agency. Here are some scary facts about cutting from each agency...

• a %20 cut for the Department of Corrections would mean 8,400 criminals let loose from prisons with 8 or 9 facilities being shut down.
• a %20 cut for Higher education would mean higher tuition, fewer class choices, and severe cuts in scholarship and student work opportunities.
• a %20 cut for the Health Care Authority would be a total of $539 million reduction in state health dollars.
• HCA would either need to reduce the number of people covered by SoonerCare, reduce benefits under SoonerCare or both.
• A 20% cut for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services would mean either cutting services for the patients with the most severe problems so that the most people could be helped or cutting services to low-cost treatment for many people which could result in an increase in severe cases.
• A 20% cut for the Department of Public Safety would mean the elimination of 253 jobs.

So you can see how serious it would be if we cut from all the other state agencies to fund the education of our children. Its like asking us to choose our children's safety over their education. I do not have a final opinion on this proposal, because that is all it is a proposal, it is not a law so nothing is set in stone you could vote for SQ 744 and they could totally change it after it is passed. Even though I cant  vote, I wouldn't until I knew more about where the funding was going to come from and knew for sure that we weren't going to be taking it from any other agencies.

Sorry this was long and boring but I needed to express my feelings on this issue and I hope those who have children in school in OK will truly learn more about the issue before voting in November.

Elizabeth