{"id":28801,"date":"2017-11-10T15:37:42","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T21:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=28801"},"modified":"2017-12-01T11:54:33","modified_gmt":"2017-12-01T17:54:33","slug":"one-idea-to-help-fund-oklahoma-schools-take-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2017\/11\/10\/one-idea-to-help-fund-oklahoma-schools-take-from-the-rich-and-give-to-the-rest\/","title":{"rendered":"One Idea To Help Fund Oklahoma Schools: Take From The Rich And Give To The Rest"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_28803\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28803\" alt=\"Calumet Public Schools Superintendent Keith Weldon stands in a  garage, that he recently turned into space for an agriculture program. Weldon worries if lawmakers take some of his local funding, he would have to scale back the popular program.  \" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Keith-Weldon_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Keith-Weldon_WEB.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Keith-Weldon_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Keith-Weldon_WEB-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Keith-Weldon_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Keith-Weldon_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Keith-Weldon_WEB-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Keith-Weldon_WEB-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Calumet Public Schools Superintendent Keith Weldon stands in an old garage that he now uses for an agriculture program. Weldon worries if lawmakers take some of his local funding, he would have to scale back the popular program.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>The wind blows strong and steady in Calumet, a small town about 40 miles west of Oklahoma City.<\/p><p>It\u2019s the wind that\u2019s prompted companies to build turbines here. A natural gas company also built a plant nearby.<\/p><p>In northeastern Oklahoma, Google built a large data center in Pryor. And the city of Cushing is flanked by fields of large steel tanks that hold millions of barrels of oil.<\/p><p>These industries bring in abundant property tax revenue for nearby schools \u2014 enough that 37 districts don\u2019t receive any funding from the state.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/353979374&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p><!--more--><\/p><p>The rest of Oklahoma\u2019s school budgets are filled by a complicated mathematical equation that\u2019s supposed to divvy up state tax dollars as fairly as possible. And, while many education experts consider Oklahoma\u2019s funding formula among the country\u2019s most equitable, state schools are still strapped for cash.<\/p><p>Now, Oklahoma lawmakers are now thinking of re-tooling the formula. One possibility: Taking some of the funds from these 37 districts, and redistributing it to others.<\/p>\n<h3>Robin Hood or robbery?<b><\/b><\/h3><p>Calumet Superintendent Keith Weldon, calls this the \u201cRobin Hood\u201d idea.<\/p><p>\u201cTake from the rich, give to the poor,\u201d Weldon says. \u201cWho\u2019s the rich? It\u2019s like taking from the healthy and giving to the sick \u2014 now you\u2019re gonna make all of us sick?\u201d<\/p><p>While Calumet has more money than many other districts its size, Weldon says his schools are far from wealthy.<\/p><p>\u201cRight at $500,000 above what I would get in state aid,\u201d he says.<\/p><p>When Calumet\u2019s local tax revenue started increasing a few years ago, Weldon used the money to start an agriculture program. Today, students learn to build things out of metal, and use plasma cutters and other tools.<\/p><p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got kids showing sheep, hogs, cattle and chickens,\u201d he says. \u201cThen there\u2019s the leadership aspect of it \u2026 the ag program has really been a good thing for Calumet, for our kids.\u201d<\/p><p>If lawmakers do tweak the funding formula, and redistribute some of his district\u2019s money to others, Weldon worries he\u2019ll have to scale back or cancel the ag program.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_28802\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28802\" alt=\"A natural gas plant is visible from Calumet Public School's baseball field. The gas plant brings in property tax revenue that helps fund local schools. \" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Gas-plant_WEB.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Gas-plant_WEB.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Gas-plant_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Gas-plant_WEB-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Gas-plant_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Gas-plant_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Gas-plant_WEB-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2017\/11\/20171109-School-Funding-Gas-plant_WEB-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Emily Wendler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A natural gas plant is visible from Calumet Public School&#39;s baseball field. The gas plant brings in local property tax revenue that helps fund the schools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>\u2018Excess,\u2019 equality<b><\/b><\/h3><p>State Sen. Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, chairs the legislative task force that\u2019s considering the funding formula changes. He says the Calumet\u2019s superintendent\u2019s worry is premature.<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s just a discussion point right now,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the right thing to do. But I know we need to investigate further on this.\u201d<\/p><p>But Stanislawski says it\u2019s troubling that 37 districts have stronger funding than hundreds of other school systems across the state. He says these districts can afford to share a funding stream that could total up to $10 million.<\/p><p>\u201cIf a school district is off the formula, that means they\u2019re making more than enough money,\u201d he says. \u201cBut they\u2019re not required to put any of that excess into the formula to go across the state to provide for other students.\u201d<\/p><p>Stanislawski says the state needs to make sure each school district has about the same amount of funding per child. \u201cThat\u2019s what I care about,\u201d he says. \u201cMaking sure they\u2019re getting an equal education to any other student.\u201d<\/p><p>So far, Stanislawski says no cash-strapped schools have come to him to request funding siphoned off from other districts. Now that the discussion about potential funding formula changes is public though, he expects opposition.<\/p><p>Superintendent Weldon agrees that some schools need additional money, but he says the school funding equation isn\u2019t broken.<\/p><p>\u201cIf you look through all the research, our funding formula is one of the most equitable of all the states,\u201d he says. \u201cThe problem is it\u2019s not fully funded.\u201d<\/p><p>Weldon says more money should come from lawmakers \u2014 not school districts like his.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The wind blows strong and steady in Calumet, a small town about 40 miles west of Oklahoma City.It\u2019s the wind that\u2019s prompted companies to build turbines here. A natural gas company also built a plant nearby.In northeastern Oklahoma, Google built a large data center in Pryor. And the city of Cushing is flanked by fields [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[855,738,737],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28801"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28889,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28801\/revisions\/28889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}