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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A plan to eventually boost public school funding in Oklahoma by $600 million each year cleared the Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday, although the final details still need to be negotiated.
The Senate voted 43-0 for the Securing Education Excellence Fund, which calls for an additional $30 million to be spent on K-12 schools next year. That amount would increase by $30 million each year until the $600 million figure is reached.
"We recognize the need for additional resources for Oklahoma schools," said Sen. James Halligan, R-Stillwater, the Senate author of the bill. "This bill is an important step in helping Oklahoma students get the quality education they need to compete and to succeed."
Halligan said that to address concerns about earmarking more revenue, the funds would be added only in years where there is growth of at least 1 percent in the state's General Revenue Fund.
Halligan initially attempted to boost education funding by diverting money that is currently being used to repair state roads and bridges, but that plan drew immediate resistance from the powerful transportation lobby.
The latest version of the bill provides that once the roads project reaches its $600 million cap in Fiscal Year 2019, funding for education would increase to $60 million annually, but only if the General Revenue Fund grows by at least 2 percent.
For each additional $60 million pumped into education, the bill requires schools to add one additional day of instruction. The goal, supporters say, is to better prepare students for college or the workforce.
"We know we have to increase the number of students who complete high school and make sure when they graduate they have mastered the skills they need to do well in college without remediation, or in CareerTech, or in the workforce," said Sen. John Ford, R-Bartlesville. "This legislation will help provide the resources we need to do that."
The bill, which now heads to a conference committee for further work, must return to the House and Senate for final passage.
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Online:
House Bill 2642: http://bit.ly/1fqbUJ4
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