Dive Brief:
- Republicans and democrats in Oklahoma's legislature have been butting heads over how to fix the the state's education deficiencies, with house democrats saying that "little has been done" since 25,000 educators rallied at the state capitol last month.
- A major point of contention is house bill 2642, which would allocate $57 million from the general fund to education; however, according to House Democratic leader Scott Inman, republican leaders are trying to pay half that amount with transportation funds, which Inman says "is sort of like robbing Peter to pay Paul."
- Another issue: Republicans want to add 10 additional school days to the bill, which Inman contends would cost the state $50 million a day and negate the budget increase.
Dive Insight:
The back-and-forth on how to feasibly improve education is not unique to Oklahoma and is something every state deals with. As Republican Senator Jim Halligan said, "I understand the two-party process. They're supposed to criticize us, but we are doing our dead-level best to try to raise test scores in Oklahoma and increase high school graduation rates."
Ultimately, taking on the extra schools days may not be the solution. When the 25,000 educators rallied at the capitol last month, their biggest complaint was just the sheer lack of funding. Perhaps it's not extra schools days the schools need to raise student achievement, but just funding to pay for resources within the schools.