More budget cuts likely for Oklahoma schools, roads, prisons


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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Budget cuts of 3 percent that began in January for Oklahoma agencies, including its public schools, will grow deeper beginning in March, the state's finance director warned on Monday.

Collections to the state treasury have continued to come in below projections, exacerbating the revenue failure that was declared in December, Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger said in an email to state agency directors and finance officers.

"We are communicating as proactively as possible because we recognize how challenging continued changes to the reduction levels will be for agencies," Doerflinger wrote.

The exact amount of the reductions won't be known until next week after the state's Board of Equalization updates the forecast for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Doerflinger noted that because the Legislature is in session, state leaders could take further actions that could affect the size of the next reduction.

House Speaker Jeff Hickman said before the session started that lawmakers might consider a bill to adjust agency allocations to protect priority areas like education and public safety, mandating deeper cuts to a state agency to ease the reductions for another.

The 3 percent cuts ordered last month are expected to cost public schools about $47 million for the rest of the fiscal year that ends June 30. State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said at the time she believes continued cuts could force some school districts to close their doors before the end of the current school year.

Already, the University of Oklahoma announced a plan to cut about $20 million in spending through a voluntary retirement offer, travel restrictions and a reduction in staff resulting from attrition. OU President David Boren announced Monday he also intends to recommend a pay cut of 3 percent for himself and other top administrators, including vice presidents and deans, for the upcoming fiscal year.

Revenue collections have fallen below the estimate upon which the state-appropriated budget for this fiscal year was based. Lawmakers are facing even deeper cuts to agency budgets for the fiscal year that begins July 1, with a hole of about $900 million, or 13 percent. That figure is expected to grow larger once the final revenue figures are certified next week.

Much of the decline is a result of the plummeting price of oil and natural gas, and the impact of the energy industry's contraction on the state's economy. The state's individual income tax rate declined in January from 5.25 percent to 5 percent, a move that will cost the state about $147 million annually when fully implemented.

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Follow Sean Murphy at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy

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