I believe in running. It’s healthy, invigorating, good for the environment and a priority for me.
Anyone who knows me is laughing. I dread this exercise.
It’s also how I view most Oklahoma politicians right now when they say, “I support public education.”
That simply can’t be true. The majority must not really feel this way.
Sure, the idea is great, and it plays well with crowds. But, those of us in the crowds are wising up.
For the second year, our state is No. 1 in education cuts since 2008. We spend 23 percent less than we did six years ago to educate our kids.
People are also reading…
Oklahoma started the school year with 800 vacancies because teachers are leaving the profession or the state. Classroom overcrowding got so bad in Oklahoma City last year it had 30 traveling teachers because they had no room.
It’s not rhetoric. It’s fact. The state turned public education into a beggar.
Walk a mile in a teacher’s shoes: To get education spending to an adequate level, something will be lost. With a clear priority toward tax cuts for oil and energy, along with breaks given to corporations, there isn’t new money coming along.
So what services are Oklahomans willing to forgo? How much time will be spent on social issues rather than fiscal ones? It doesn’t take long for elected leaders to get sidetracked.
Maybe instead of the next Legislative session being held at the Capitol, it should be held at various public schools. This goes for all statewide elected officials.
Perhaps lawmakers will act quicker if they sit in a room with 32 colleagues in 75-degree heat and no fan. Bring a coat for winter because boilers in those old schoolhouses are testy.
Instead of an office, they have to push a cart with their supplies from room to room, as teachers did in Oklahoma City. Or have them split time at one school then go to another the second part of day. No travel reimbursement is allowed.
Just like teachers, officials must give wish lists to constituents for supplies like pencils, paper and hand sanitizer. When things really get tight and janitorial service is cut, they should be ready to mop at the end of the day.
Forget long lunches. They get 20 minutes to eat and play, then it’s back to work. That’s if they get a lunch. To be fair, they will have to rotate cafeteria duty and grab a bite during the five-minute breaks.
Technology will be available but not reliable, and the printer will likely run out of ink. So bring those donated pens and notebooks to do work the old-fashioned way.
Scrambling for dollars: Just because Oklahoma is spending less on education doesn’t mean those costs went away. It just shifted to parents, nonprofits and donations from private businesses.
Think of your household budget six years ago. If you bought a $20 item in 2008, it will cost $22.09 today, according to an online inflation calculator using information from the Consumer Price Index.
In 2008, the midtown elementary school where my kids went had an art program, gifted-and-talented teacher and a Parent Teacher Association budget of about $13,000.
The PTA purchased extras like playground equipment, lunches for honor-roll students, musical instruments for low-income students, classroom parties and graduation events.
As the state slashed budgets, PTAs and other school support groups picked up the cost. Parents went searching for grants and fundraisers to replace the cuts.
In hindsight, more advocating for funding maintenance should have occurred. But everyone scrambled to clean up the Legislature’s mess. It’s still happening.
At our school, art was dropped years ago, and the part-time gifted-and-talented teacher works out of a room initially built as a closet.
The PTA budget fell to about $3,200, both from dwindling donations due to the recession and the upped requests from the school. The fun and enrichment stuff got set aside to pay for janitorial supplies, a library reading program, head-lice kits and preparation books for tests the state mandates.
It’s not just the academic needs. PTAs are paying for security check-in systems, locks, lights and blinds, which are needed for lockdowns. The state convened a school safety task force after the Sandy Hook shooting, but nothing was provided to cover even the cheapest recommendations.
School support groups no longer hold fundraisers for a single, cool project like an outdoor classroom. They slowly morphed into shadow budgets to keep a school operating.
If you’re tired of being asked to buy candy, wrapping paper, fruit and cookie dough from school groups, we’re tired of having to sell it.
This is the reality at public schools with a PTA or foundation. For low-income schools without one, it’s grimmer.
The next time a candidate talks education, push further. Get specific. Find out their voting record. Look at their actions.
It’s way past time just to take their word on it.
