{"id":30800,"date":"2018-09-20T13:57:18","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T18:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=30800"},"modified":"2018-09-20T14:27:20","modified_gmt":"2018-09-20T19:27:20","slug":"education-leaders-see-few-benefits-in-ballot-measure-to-give-schools-more-financial-flexibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/09\/20\/education-leaders-see-few-benefits-in-ballot-measure-to-give-schools-more-financial-flexibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Educators see few benefits in ballot measure giving schools more financial flexibility"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_30801\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 6000px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30801\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2018\/09\/Koln-Knight_WEB-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Emily Wendler \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Koln Knight is the superintendent of Cushing Public Schools.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Oklahoma education leaders say a state question designed to give districts more spending flexibility will do little to improve public schools\u2019 financial difficulties.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/502717461&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p><p>State Question 801 would allow school leaders to spend money in their building fund \u2014 currently restricted for things like construction projects, maintenance and repairs, utilities, and custodians\u2019 salaries \u2014 in new ways.<\/p><p>State Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, who authored the <a href=\"http:\/\/webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us\/cf_pdf\/2017-18%20ENR\/SRES\/SJR70%20ENR.PDF\">legislative referendum<\/a> that became the November ballot measure, said if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ok.gov\/documents\/questions\/801.pdf\">SQ 801<\/a> is approved, districts would be <a href=\"https:\/\/newsok.com\/article\/5603519\/oklahomans-face-november-vote-on-school-funding-issue\">allowed to use the funds<\/a> for operating expenses and teachers\u2019 salaries.<\/p><p>But Shawn Hime, the executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, doesn\u2019t think the measure provides a fix many districts need.<\/p><p>\u201cI have yet to have any school, not one school district in the state, that has said it will help them use and move money that they can\u2019t currently use,\u201d he said. \u201cNot one school in the state, and we\u2019re looking.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Superintendents \u2018puzzled\u2019<\/h3><p>Cushing Public Schools Superintendent Koln Knight said he doesn\u2019t know of any school leaders pushing for this either.<\/p><p>\u201cMost superintendents are puzzled as to where this came from,\u201d he said.<\/p><p>Knight said districts don\u2019t have large amounts of money trapped in building funds due to spending restrictions. Instead, he said schools need and use all the money in their building funds for building-related expenses. If voters approve SQ 801, he said Cushing schools will continue spending building funds as originally intended.<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s not going to change anything about how we operate,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t believe it\u2019ll change much for any school in the state. Some school districts don\u2019t even have enough building fund to cover their utilities.\u201d<\/p><p>Knight said SQ 801 wouldn\u2019t create a new funding stream for public schools. It does not allow districts to pass bonds to pay for teachers\u2019 salaries, for example. Knight said the measure simply allows schools to shift money from one account to another.<\/p><p>\u201cChanging how you can spend the money between the two doesn\u2019t add a dime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h3>Local control<\/h3><p>The bulk of the money that goes to public schools comes from a funding formula that distributes state-dedicated revenues and legislative appropriations. Building funds, however, are generated by local property taxes, and the amount schools receive is largely determined by the value of the property within their district boundaries.<\/p><p>Because districts with higher property values can accumulate more substantial building funds, Oklahoma Education Association President Alicia Priest worries <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2018\/02\/01\/educators-say-legislation-on-spending-flexibility-could-increase-school-inequality\/\">funding disparities<\/a> between rich and poor districts will grow if voters approve SQ 801.<\/p><p>In a statement opposing SQ 801, Priest also said that building maintenance could be neglected if schools are allowed to tap those accounts to pay for teacher salaries and other classroom expenses.<\/p><p>Jennifer Monies, the Director of Oklahoma Achieves, a workforce development arm of the Oklahoma State Chamber, supports SQ 801. She said it eliminates arbitrary and government-imposed restrictions on how schools can spend their money.<\/p><p>\u201cWe believe local communities can best decide what to do with local dollars,\u201d she said.<\/p><p>Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum is another supporter. He said a \u201cyes\u201d vote would not force schools to spend the money in their building fund on teacher pay, or anything else. It just gives them more budgeting options.<\/p><p>\u201cI\u2019m not saying every community should use that fund for operations,\u201d he said, \u201cEvery local community ought to be able to have that conversation and make that decision. Right now they can\u2019t. They\u2019re forced to spend it one way.\u201d<\/p><p>Bynum and other supporters said SQ 801 is not a solution to Oklahoma\u2019s education funding woes. He calls it a \u201ctoe in the water,\u201d and wants schools to have even more freedom in how they can spend local property taxes.<\/p><p>Bynum said districts should be able to pass bond issues to raise teacher salaries or increase classroom funding \u2014 something state law currently prohibits.<\/p><p>Bynum said Oklahomans have waited long enough for lawmakers to give schools more money. He said SQ 801 is a first step in giving communities more control over their districts.<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This November, Oklahomans will be asked to vote on State Question 801. This measure gives schools more flexibility in how they can spend their money, but many school leaders say that flexibility won\u2019t improve their financial situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":30806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[721,963,964],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30800"}],"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\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30800"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30809,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30800\/revisions\/30809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}