OSSBA Statement on Budget Cut

March 3, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Christy Watson
Communications Director, OSSBA
405.528.3571 | 405.821.3209 (cell)
christyw@ossba.org

Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, issued the following statement about today’s budget cut announcement:

“Today’s budget announcement means schools will lose another $93 per student – a total of $158 less per student than schools budgeted for at the beginning of the year.

Now is the time to get serious about a long-term funding plan for public education that will ensure a high-quality education for Oklahoma’s nearly 700,000 public school students.

Students and their families deserve a commitment from state policy leaders to halt conversation around new mandates, vouchers and any other policies that will add costs or divert resources away from public schools.

Our per-student education investment in Oklahoma is dead last in the region and one of the worst in the country. We have a historic teacher shortage, class sizes are increasing and schools are cutting courses. Simply put, our classrooms are in crisis.

Education isn’t a partisan issue.  The budget decisions looming over the next few months will affect our children, our communities and our state for years to come.  There’s no margin for error. We must work together to protect our students and their education.”