Shawn Hime Statement on State Budget

OSSBA Executive Director Shawn Hime offered the following statement on today’s state budget actions:

“Today’s budget news is deeply concerning for education leaders, and I want to be clear: This is the worst possible time to earmark money for special projects or try to score political brownie points.

Gov. Stitt had the opportunity today to take a strong public stand in favor of protecting public education, but the failure to do so was a missed opportunity and colossal disappointment. I’m hopeful legislative leaders who have worked hard these last few years to support public schools and Oklahoma’s children will stand in the gap.

Every federal dollar earmarked for education should go directly to Oklahoma schools to help educate students through this crisis. State leaders must do everything in their power to protect the last two years of education investment, and we need our Congressional delegation to prioritize additional stimulus support for public schools. We have learned the hard way that education budget cuts wreak generational devastation; children don’t get a do-over on their education. “

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