The primary concern shared was that by the year 2020, 77 percent of jobs in the state will require education beyond high school, yet only 54 percent of Oklahoma’s working age adults meet that criteria. To combat this, the governor provided several actionable initiatives: Complete College America, Oklahoma Works, Oklahoma’s Promise and finding efficiencies in our system.

I commend the governor for her focus on these critical programs. However, I am concerned that with the dramatic decrease in education funding, we are going in the opposite direction.

As a regent and immediate past chairwoman, I have referenced that letter often and have a few observations to share.

Despite the challenging budget climate, Oklahoma State University and the A&M institutions have worked diligently to continue to offer a low cost, high quality education. Our board has found there are still far too many high school students academically unprepared and inadequately financed to succeed in college. In an effort to streamline the process and allow more students to meet the Complete College America goals, institutions across the state are implementing new courses that allows students to earn college credit while also receiving the remedial help that they need to be successful.

Another worthy program, Oklahoma Works, helps institutions match college graduates with Oklahoma’s workforce needs. Many of the critical workforce needs are in STEM expertise — an area that requires higher pay for instructors and more investment in infrastructure in order to be competitive with the private market and other institutions. Instead of investing in these areas that will enable Oklahoma to diversify its economy, Oklahoma has dramatically reduced state support for colleges and universities.

Oklahoma’s Promise provides support for students in lower income families. With budget decreases for Oklahoma’s K-12 funding, too many students are starting off on the wrong foot with no safety net at home. It is imperative that we honor our promise to help educate these children and break the cycle of poverty.

Institutions have continued to search for more efficiencies in operations. The OSU system has significantly reduced costs by changing its purchasing card program, adding a self-insured health plan and outsourcing some essential services. Consolidation of “back office” resources between our institutions provides smaller schools with assistance they could not otherwise afford. These are all commendable reforms but they only go so far. We cannot continue to decrease funding for higher education and expect to meet the needs of tomorrow’s Oklahoma.

With the damage being done to our colleges and universities, Oklahoma is on a course that will further divide us into the haves and have-nots. Our entire OSU/ A&M system is ready to work together with our state’s leadership to change this course and give our entire state a brighter future.

Lou Watkins is member of the Oklahoma A&M Regents.