I’ve never sat awake in bed at night, restless and worried that skin color might determine whether my children reach their dreams. Not once.   I’ve never had a talk with my children about how wearing a hoodie or sagging pants or head covering might make them a target. Not once.  My heart has never raced when the phone rang, […]

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 […]

Oklahoma’s persistent education investment gap will narrow thanks to more than $900 million in state investments in public school students and a strong economy in recent years, but the state will likely remain last in the region on what it spends per student for at least the next few years.  A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics analyzes data from the 2016-2017 school year to detail state-by-state […]

Parrott Named to OSSBA Board A longtime El Reno school board member is the newest member of the governing board of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. Dorrie Parrott recently was elected as an OSSBA Region 10 director by her fellow school board members in the region. “Dr. Parrott is an excellent addition to the […]

Two legislators were honored Aug. 23 for their support of public education with the Oklahoma State School Boards Association’s Legislator of the Year Award.  Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, and Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, served as leaders of education appropriations subcommittee in their respective legislative bodies during the most recent legislative session. They accepted the award during the […]

  Oklahoma’s public schools are poised to hire more teachers and make other classroom investments thanks to back-to-back years of increased education funding, but teacher recruitment and retention remain challenging, according to a new survey from the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.   Schools had 596 teaching vacancies on Aug. 1 while districts reported mixed plans […]

May 15, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Christy Watson Communications Director christyW@ossba.org | 405.821.3209 Statement from OSSBA Executive Director Shawn Hime on Budget Agreement “I commend Gov. Stitt and legislators for delivering on their promise to again increase the state’s investment in our children, our teachers and their schools.  The new money will provide schools […]

Statement from OSSBA Executive Director Shawn Hime on Approval of New School Report Cards “Great work is happening every day in schools across Oklahoma to help every child be successful, and we’re hopeful the new school report cards will be a reflection of that effort. While the new report card’s focus on growth in student […]

Statement from Oklahoma State School Boards Association Executive Director Shawn Hime about Committee Passage of Senate Bill 407 and House Bill 2621: “We are unwavering and unapologetic in our belief that the best way to support all of Oklahoma’s children is a well-funded public education system that has the resources to meet the needs of […]

Statement from OSSBA Executive Director Shawn Hime on Gov. Stitt’s State of the State Address and Budget Proposal Gov. Stitt’s focus on supporting public education and his proposal to invest nearly $100 million more in school funding are promising signs that this legislative session will build on last year’s historic investment in Oklahoma’s children and […]