Roberts, Teague Seeking Education Funding Reform Interim Study

The six reform bills proposed during the second special session are being highlighted in a call from Representatives Sean Roberts and Tess Teague for an interim study. They are requesting the study to help pave the way for the reforms during the next session.

“My constituents have been clear,” said Roberts. “They aren’t happy with the way money is being wasted in state government, and they are tired of their tax dollars being lost to greed, incompetence and negligence. We owe it to our citizens to look at ways that we can save taxpayers money and still provide for our state’s core services. I believe these six pieces of legislation are a step in the right direction. I hope this study is approved and all my colleagues attend.”

“New taxes aren’t the answer to a problem that stems from a lack of accountability and oversight,” said Teague. “It’s time for the Legislature to stop playing games with other people’s money and start passing legislation that addresses the problems our state agencies face.”

The proposed legislation includes:

House Bill 1043XX, which enforces a performance audit of the State Department of Education. This would be performed by the state auditor.

House Bill 1044XX, which requires the Commissioners of the Land Office (CLO) to provide every teacher with a $500 annual stipend for classroom supplies.

House Bill 1045XX, which caps superintendent salaries to that of the governor’s. The governor’s salary is currently $147,000 per year. This legislation mimics federal law.

House Bill 1046XX, which consolidates superintendents across Oklahoma’s more than 500 school districts. This would only affect counties with populations less than 400,000.

House Bill 1047XX, which requires the state superintendent to submit to the Legislature and the governor a rolling five-year plan to meet existing and future public education needs for funding and policy reform.

House Bill 1048XX, which reallocates $15 million of lottery funding for textbooks and curriculum technology.

The deadline for filing interim study requests in the House is June 8.


Print pagePDF pageEmail page

*

Copyright © The McCarville Report