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State education board to consider budget

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By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
Published: 6/29/2010  2:22 AM
Last Modified: 6/29/2010  8:16 AM

The Oklahoma State Board of Education will hold a special meeting Tuesday in Oklahoma City to discuss and possibly act on the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Thursday.

The meeting comes nearly a month after the Legislature and Gov. Brad Henry reached an agreement on a state budget plan.

Lawmakers, faced with staggering state revenue shortfalls, said the budget cuts common education by about 2.9 percent.

But education officials say that’s misleading and that the cuts are closer to 9 percent when combined with monthly state reductions begun last year.

Shortly after the beginning of the last school year, districts began receiving less money from the state than allocated because of revenue shortfalls. That prompted districts to make cuts such as not renewing employee contracts, increasing class sizes and not filling open positions.

A supplemental funding bill drawing from federal stimulus money and state “rainy day” funds was used as a stopgap, but those revenue sources were not enough.

In addition, the board on Tuesday will consider a request for an investigative audit of Bell Public Schools in Adair County by the state Auditor and Inspector’s Office.

Bell Public Schools lost its accreditation and state funding in May amid allegations that some district officials violated state laws regarding curriculum and financial accountability.

The district was found not to have a gifted and talented program, as mandated by the
state, and had a deficit of about $200,000. The district had about 110 students.

Oklahoma State Board of Education approves budget

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By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
Published: 6/29/2010  3:25 PM
Last Modified: 6/29/2010  4:02 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass a budget that pulled funding from several educational programs.

The budget represents an 8.5 percent, or nearly $39 million, cut to the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Programs and Activities fund.

The job of appropriating $419 million in funds for the separate programs fell to the board because the Legislature took the unusual step of not including any line-item funding measures for specific education programs when it passed the budget for next fiscal year, said State Superintendent Sandy Garrett.

“In 22 years, in this office or in the governor’s office, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Garrett said.

Among those programs not receiving any money from the programs and activities fund next fiscal year are:
# Mentor teacher stipends
# Driver education
# Academic achievement awards
# AG in the classroom
# Oklahoma ambassador of teaching
# Rural Infant stimulation environment
# Recreation therapy grants
# Teacher retirement credit
Other programs are taking cuts as well, such as:
# Staff development — cut $7.8 million and funded $8.5 million.
# Alternative and High Challenge Education — cut $2.5 million and funded $17.2 million.
# Instructional Co-op Technical Education — cut $185,017, funded $300,000.
# Early Intervention/Sooner Start — cut $2.6 million, funded $13.8 million.
The cuts
mean that many of the programs will not be offered or will be curtailed this year, officials said.

Though driver education will lose its $442,547 from the program and activities fund, it also has a second state funding source that it did not spend all of last year, State Department of Education officials said, so the program will not be cut.

However, other programs that rely exclusively on money from the programs and activities fund will not be around next year, such as the Academic Achievement Awards, the Arts Component of Alternative Education, arts grants, Ambassador of Teaching (which funds a full time teacher to fill in for State Teacher of the Year), Recreation Therapy and the Math Improvement Program.

Other programs are expected to continue operating, but will no longer receive money from the fund, such as AG in the Classroom –which is expected to be instead funded by Oklahoma State University.

While the programs that won’t be funded through the Department of Education’s program and activities fund might not get money this year, they won’t necessarily be done away with for good, Garrett said.

She said the programs will hopefully be funded again within two years when the economy improves.

The budget passed Tuesday does not affect state aid given to individual school districts for their general funds.

Under the budget, however, teacher and support staff health benefits, would receive more funding. In January, insurance premiums rose by 8 percent, while funding for those benefits dropped by more than 7 percent, Garrett said, meaning that individual school districts had to pick up the tab to pay for the benefits.

Under the proposed budget, which has yet to be written into final draft form, the Oklahoma Department of Education would fund 100 percent of certified teacher benefits and 93.5 percent of support staff benefits, including an expected 3.33 percent rise in premiums this year.

The budget reflects the most responsible approach to program funding under the current circumstances, Garrett said, by not jeopardizing federal matching funds on school lunch and other programs and by affecting student learning and teachers as little as possible.

Both Garrett and board members voiced frustration at the Legislature for not writing instructions for the appropriation and for legislation that allows schools to be more lax in maintaining accreditation standards.

The “unique” budget with no line items “delivers it to our doorstep to do the dirty work of telling all of these worthy programs, worthy professionals and school children of Oklahoma what our elected leadership would not do, which is our priority is not education,” said board member Tim Gilpin of Tulsa. “What they’re saying is that our priority is to pass a faux budget and pass the responsibility on to you … to deliver the bad news.”

The program funding cuts and loosened standards will cause more teachers to look for work out of state and harm education in the state, Gilpin said.

“Then we’ll wonder one day why our Legislature spent their time talking about a variety of other issues except for education and why our kids can’t read, can’t compete, can’t add or subtract,” he said.

Challenge to colleges
State Superintendent Sandy Garrett called for colleges of education around the state to help pay for some of the teacher development programs that are experiencing funding cuts.

“I think it’s a darn shame that colleges of education don’t help with these programs,” Garrett said. “I’m challenging them to help. If you’re going to take the credit and write about them, put your money where your mouth is. These are for teachers.”

Board cuts Oklahoma education programs

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By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
Published: 6/30/2010  2:21 AM
Last Modified: 6/30/2010  3:59 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to pass a budget that pulls funding from several programs.

The budget represents an 8.5 percent — or nearly $39 million — cut to the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s Programs and Activities Fund.

The job of appropriating $419 million in funds for the separate programs fell to the board because the Legislature took the unusual step of not including any instructions for funding specific education programs and activities when it passed the budget for next fiscal year, said State Superintendent Sandy Garrett.

“In 22 years, in this office or in the Governor’s Office, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Garrett said.

The cuts mean many of the programs will not be offered or will be curtailed this year, officials said.

Although driver education will lose its $442,547 from the Programs and Activities Fund, it has a second state funding source and did not spend all of its income from that last year, Department of Education officials said, so the program will not be cut.

However, other programs that rely exclusively on money from the Programs and Activities Fund will not be around next year. They include academic achievement awards, the arts component of alternative education, arts grants, Ambassador of Teaching (which funds a full-time teacher to fill in for the state teacher of the year), recreation therapy and the math-improvement program.

Other programs
are likely to continue operating but will no longer receive money from the fund. The Ag in the Classroom program is expected to be instead funded by Oklahoma State University.

While the programs that won’t be funded through the Department of Education’s Programs and Activities Fund might not get money this year, they won’t necessarily be axed, Garrett said.

She hopes the programs will be funded again within two years, when the economy improves, she said.

The budget passed Tuesday does not deal specifically with state aid given to individual school districts for their general funds.

However, teacher and support staff health benefits are to receive more funding. In January, insurance premiums rose by 8 percent, while funding for those benefits dropped by more than 7 percent, Garrett said, meaning individual school districts had to pick up the tab to pay for the benefits.

Under the budget, which has yet to be written into final draft form, the Oklahoma Department of Education would fund 100 percent of certified teacher benefits and 93.5 percent of support staff benefits, including an expected 3.33 percent rise in premiums.

The budget reflects the most responsible approach to program funding under the current circumstances, Garrett said, because it does not jeopardize federal matching funds on school lunch and other programs and because it affects student learning and teachers as little as possible.

Both Garrett and board members voiced frustration at the Legislature for not writing instructions for the appropriation and for passing legislation that allows schools to be more lax in maintaining accreditation standards.

As for the budget, the Legislature “deliver(ed) it to our doorstep to do the dirty work of telling all of these worthy programs, worthy professionals and school children of Oklahoma what our elected leadership would not do, which is: ‘Our priority is not education,’ ” said board member Tim Gilpin of Tulsa. “What they’re saying is that ‘our priority is to pass a faux budget and pass the responsibility on to you to deliver the bad news.’ ”

The program funding cuts and loosened standards will cause more teachers to look for work out of state and will harm education in the state, Gilpin said.

“Then we’ll wonder one day why our Legislature spent their time talking about a variety of other issues except for education and why our kids can’t read, can’t compete, can’t add or subtract,” he said.

Challenge to colleges: Garrett called for colleges of education around the state to help pay for some of the teacher-development programs that are seeing funding cuts.

“I think it’s a darn shame that colleges of education don’t help with these programs,” she said. “I’m challenging them to help. If you’re going to take the credit and write about them, put your money where your mouth is. These are for teachers.”

Bell Schools audit: The board also unanimously approved a request for the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office to audit Bell Public Schools. The district’s accreditation was pulled by the board, and it was later consolidated with two other school districts after allegations were made that financial and academic rules and laws had been broken.

Some programs that won’t be funded next year:
Mentor teacher stipends: A stipend for more experienced teachers who mentor newer teachers.

Academic Achievement Awards: monetary awards to top-performing teachers at top-performing/most-improved schools.

Ag in the Classroom: Provides resources to teachers for students to learn about Oklahoma’s food and fiber industry.

Oklahoma Ambassador of Teaching: Pays a school district to hire a full-time substitute to fill in for the selected State Teacher of the Year.

Rural Infant Stimulation Environment: An early-intervention program for children with disabilities.

Other programs are taking cuts as well, such as:

Staff development: cut $7.8 million and funded $8.5 million.

Alternative and High Challenge Education: cut $2.5 million, funded $17.2 million.

Instructional Co-op Technical Education: cut $185,017, funded $300,000.

Early Intervention/Sooner Start: cut $2.6 million, funded $13.8 million.

Bell Public Schools to consolidate with Stilwell, Belfonte

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By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
Published: 6/24/2010  12:20 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY — The State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to consolidate Bell Public Schools with Stilwell and Belfonte districts.

The Adair County school serves children in kindergarten through eighth grades.

The board had previously voted 5-1 to deny accreditation — and state funding — to the district. An audit of the district had revealed violations of state and federal laws, officials said at the time.

The district was founded in the 1800s and has 110 students, about 97 percent of whom are members of the Cherokee Nation, school officials said.

An audit found that the district violated several state and federal laws regarding its finances and broke the district’s own policies and procedures, such as a lack of a gifted and talented program.

The district has had three superintendents in the past year, with the first two suspended by the local school board after the audit findings were released, a school board member said.

At the end of the fiscal year, the district is expected to be facing a more than $200,000 deficit, he said.

Bell school superintendent Ben Poindexter handed the keys to the Bell school building to Belfonte superintendent Paul Pinkerton. The Bell school building will be located in the Belfonte district.

Pinkerton says the school will remain open next school year, but only for students from pre-K to the fourth or fifth grades.

Also, Watson Public School assistant superintendent Charles Jones told the board
that the McCurtain County district did not have enough money to keep the school open.

The board then voted to pull the district’s accreditation and to annex Watson into the neighboring Smithville district.

OU develops iPad application; will go live in July

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By Associated Press
Published: 6/24/2010  7:01 AM

NORMAN, Okla. — University of Oklahoma information technology officials say they’ve developed an iPad application that will go live in July.

The iPad, a touch-screen tablet computer, launched on April 3 in the U.S. The OU IT store has sold about 350 iPads since then and store employees anticipate selling another 350 before school starts in August.

OU officials say the iPad application is designed to improve efficiencies through technology and will allow the university’s regents to opt for mobile delivery of agendas and supporting materials, which often can be hundreds of pages long.

OU’s IT staff also plans this fall to make the university’s course management system available to students in a mobile format. When that is done, students who own an iPad or iPhone will be able to use those devices to check assignments and grades, submit homework or participate in discussions.

Grand jury issues indictments

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The panel’s report says it had “no confidence in” Skiatook Public Schools’ interim superintendent.

By SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer
Published: 6/26/2010  2:23 AM

A Tulsa County grand jury investigating allegations of wasteful spending by Skiatook Public Schools issued two sealed indictments late Friday and issued a report saying it had “no confidence in the ability” of the interim superintendent to lead the district.

The indictments will remain secret until arrest warrants are issued and the defendants are served, Tulsa County Presiding District Judge Tom Thornbrugh announced.

The grand jury also recommended that a certain public official or officials be removed from office, the judge said, but that recommendation also was filed under seal.

The District Attorney’s Office will give written notice to those public officials, who must appear in court to face the grand jury accusations, the judge said.

In a report from the grand jury that was made public early Saturday, jurors said they had “no confidence in the ability of Steve Williams to effectively serve as school superintendent or assistant superintendent.”

The school board earlier this month awarded the interim superintendent’s job for the 2010-11 school year to Williams, who had served in that capacity since former Superintendent Gary Johnson was suspended.

Johnson was suspended after a state audit released in February revealed that the district paid Oklahoma City middleman Rick Enos — through his companies E&E Sales and Austin Security — $570,000 more than it would have paid for custodial supplies and security equipment had it bought them directly.

Johnson’s
resignation is effective June 30.

Grand jurors said in their report that “when custodial funds were being overspent, he (Williams) never confronted Gary Johnson, who was overseeing purchasing.”

A grand jury indictment requires the agreement of at least nine of the 12 jurors.

A grand jury conducts its own investigation in secret and questions witnesses along with its legal advisers, in this case Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris and Assistant District Attorneys David Iski and Andrea Wyrick.

The 12-member panel has investigated the allegations of misspending since it was seated June 4.

It returned to open court to hand up its indictments and recommendations at 11:40 p.m. Friday.

The panel had to be finished by midnight Saturday night to meet a deadline to comply with election laws that prohibit grand juries from being in session 30 days before an election.

A statewide primary election is scheduled for July 27.

The grand jury was seated after a group led by Jason Willingham, a Skiatook parent and Tulsa police officer, gathered 7,700 signatures on a petition calling for a grand jury.

State regents to vote on tuition increase requests

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By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
Published: 6/23/2010  1:43 PM

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education will vote Thursday on requests from every public college in the state to increase tuition and fees for the upcoming school year.

All 25 public colleges are requesting tuition and fee increases averaging around 5 percent, said Ben Hardcastle, spokesman for the State Regents.

The requests come after last year’s tuition freeze.

Shortfalls in expected state revenue and increased enrollment across the state are behind the increases, Hardcastle said.

In recent weeks, the governing boards of several colleges and universities — including Tulsa Community College, Oklahoma State University, Rogers State University and Northeastern State University — have voted to increase fees.

On Wednesday, the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents voted to increase tuition and fees at the university by 4.5 percent. Its last increase in 2008 was 9.9 percent.

Foundation for Tulsa Schools names new president

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By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer
Published: 6/24/2010  4:30 PM

Lucky Lamons has been named the new president of the Foundation for Tulsa Schools.

Lamons decided earlier this month not to pursue a fifth term as a state representative. He has been representing District 66, which stretches from downtown Tulsa to Sand Springs north of the Arkansas River, since 2002.

Starting July 1, he will begin the work of directing fundraising efforts for Tulsa Public Schools. He will replace long-time executive director Rachel Maze, who is retiring.

“Lucky is a true leader in the Tulsa community and will be a great asset to the foundation,” FTS Board President Mark Poole said in a statement. “With his skills and experiences, we are confident that Lucky can take the foundation to the next level and help us better serve the needs of Tulsa students.”

Lamons worked for the Tulsa Police Department for 21 years, including the positions of public information officer and crime stoppers coordinator. He has also served on several community boards and has completed Leadership Tulsa and Leadership Oklahoma.

He has five degrees from the University of Oklahoma, Northeastern State University and Cameron University, including masters of science in public administration and criminal justice.

Salary information was not included in the statement, but Maze earned about $70,000 a year, according to a 2008 tax document. The foundation’s total assets for that fiscal year were listed at $1.8 million.

Coalition to oppose education initiative

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NORMAN, Okla. — A coalition of business and labor groups says there are consequences to state employees and services if a ballot initiative to dramatically increase spending on public education passes.
Members of the group known as the One Oklahoma Coalition will meet outside the state-operated Norman Veteran’s Center Thursday to discuss concerns about State Question 744. Voters will decide the issue in the Nov. 2 general election.

The petition would force the state to spend at least $850 million more on public schools over a three-year period to meet the seven-state regional average for per-student spending.

Opponents say that could lead to the loss of up to 7,000 state workers and up to 25 percent of state services, including veteran’s care.

Watson and Bell forced into other districts

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By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
Published: 6/25/2010  2:21 AM
Last Modified: 6/25/2010  5:22 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY — The State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to consolidate two financially troubled Oklahoma school districts.

Bell Public Schools, located in southeastern Adair County was consolidated with Stilwell and Belfonte districts, with the Belfonte district given control of the Bell school property.

Bell Public Schools had its accreditation and state funding stripped by the State Board of Education in May after an audit revealed possible illegal practices, both academic — such as not having a gifted and talented program — and financial, leaving the district, which has around 110 students, about $200,000 in the hole.

Many teachers who work in the district said they have not been paid since April.

“That is absolutely not acceptable,” State Superintendent Sandy Garrett said.

After the vote to consolidate the district, Bell Superintendent Ben Poindexter gave Belfonte Superintendent Paul Pinkerton the keys to the school, and the Adair County Sheriff’s Department was called by the Department of Education and asked to secure the school building until Pinkerton arrived, Garrett said.

The State Board of Education will hold a special meeting Tuesday that will include an agenda item asking the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office to perform an audit on the district, and Adair County District Attorney’s Office will also be brought into the investigation, Garrett said.

Several Bell teachers, employees, school board
members and Poindexter — who is the third superintendent this year and was hired after many of the alleged financial improprieties came to light — attended the meeting and made pleas that at least the school building remain open to children in the Bell community, rather than busing them to Stilwell or Belfonte.

The Adair County school serves children in kindergarten through eighth grades, more than 90 percent of which are American Indian and for many of whom Cherokee is their first language.

Many of those who spoke up also brought forth allegations of intimidation, abuse, fraud and waste by the district’s two previous superintendents. The allegations included using the district’s money to pay for a powwow, to fuel personal vehicles and to purchase twice-as-expensive plastic containers of milk, rather than regular cartons of milk.

Employees also told the board that they were told it was illegal to speak with local school board members and were threatened with losing their jobs if they spoke with local or state board members or Oklahoma Department of Human Services employees.

Other teachers told the board that they were not allowed to make accommodations mandated under federal law for special education and English language learners during testing.

After losing accreditation last month, the community recently held a fundraiser to try to eliminate the $200,000 deficit. The $1,000 raised was later stolen, community members told the board.

Pinkerton and Stilwell Superintendent Mary Alice Fletcher said they hope to be able to hire the teachers from Bell, as well as support staff.

Each district will receive around $400,000 for the consolidation, but they also must pay the debts owed by the former district, including paying the teachers.

While the school will probably open under Stilwell’s administration next year, it might only serve up to the fourth or fifth grade, Pinkerton said.

Second consolidation: A second district to be consolidated at Thursday’s meeting was Watson Public Schools, located in northeastern McCurtain County, which serves about 30 students.

The district was placed on probation by the board last month after it failed to comply with state laws and board regulations, including not having a full-time superintendent. More than 40 parents, teachers, administrators and board members showed up to that meeting asking for more time and with the promise of hiring a full-time superintendent.

But when the incoming superintendent, Charles Jones, reviewed the district’s finances, it became clear that the district did not have enough money to open its doors next school year, he told the board.

The district’s accreditation was revoked and the board voted to annex it to Smithville school district, located just west of Watson.

Curriculum standards: The board also unanimously approved a measure to adopt common core standards that are to be shared with 48 other states and the District of Columbia in English language arts, literacy in history, social studies and science, as well as mathematics.

Though Department of Education officials said that much of the state’s curriculum is in line with the common core standards, the new standards require some revisions in state curriculum, and would help improve the achievement of students in core subjects, as well as standardize the curriculum in almost all states, except for Texas and Alaska, which are not participating in the multistate initiative.