Time to consolidate

Public education in Oklahoma is failing. Our teachers are overworked, underpaid and doing what they do out of love for the kids they teach and not the financial security of the job. That’s not going to last. High-quality educators are going to be recruited away by better-paying districts in other states, and our kids are going to suffer even more. It’s high time we made the tough choices on funding public education and addressed a large but ignored elephant in our classrooms: excessive administrative overhead.

Let’s just look at Oklahoma County. Within this one county are at least 15 school districts, each with its own administrative, transportation, infrastructure and labor costs. Of these, there are at least five independent public school districts that fall within the incorporated city limits of Oklahoma City in addition to the Oklahoma City public school district. There might be even more if we expand our search beyond the scope of just one county and look at any that lie just over the border in Cleveland or Canadian counties. I’m sure there are long and storied traditions to each of these districts, but the time has come to tighten our belts. We have to reorganize and consolidate these districts to eliminate overlapping services and waste. It’s a painful choice but one that has to be made, both here and throughout the rest of the state, if we are to make any impact on this deficit we face.

Steven Lipe, Edmond