OKC schools chief vows to fight despite budget cuts
The leader of Oklahoma’s largest school district vowed Wednesday to press on despite budget cuts that have resulted in fewer teachers and larger class sizes across the state.
Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Aurora Lora, speaking to about 600 people at the annual State of the Schools event, predicted the district will emerge from “this budget crisis smarter and more resourceful.”
“The odds may be stacked against us right now, but we’re up for this challenge and determined to succeed,” Lora said. “We will overcome tough times. “We’re not just going to survive, we’re going to thrive.
“I guarantee you, like I said last year, five years from now this is going to be a district that this whole nation is watching.”
About 50 elected officials attended a panel discussion and luncheon hosted by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
The discussion featured state Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister and Edmond Public Schools Superintendent Bret Towne.
The panel addressed the need to adequately fund common education and pay teachers more to keep them from leaving the state for higher-paying jobs.
The state Board of Education, which approved more than 600 emergency teaching certificates in July, could consider a similar amount
when members meet Thursday.
Emergency certificates are issued to school systems that lack qualified candidates.
“We can have the highest standards,” Hofmeister said. “But if we don’t have the teachers to teach what good is it?”
Osborn discussed the state budget and a possible special session to address a $215 million shortfall in several agencies’ budgets after the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down a new cigarette fee.
That shortfall could grow to as much as $400 million, depending on several different scenarios, with state agencies facing possible cuts of between 5 percent and 14 percent if no new sources of revenue are identified, she said.
“I think people are tired of us being Republicans and Democrats and want us to fix this,” she said.
Osborn said funding a teacher pay raise without a dedicated funding source is “going to be very difficult.”
Towne, meanwhile, said academic achievement has not dropped off in the Edmond district despite cutting $4.3 million from the budget.
Administrators gave up two days of pay while teachers and support staff gave up one day of pay to help out, he said.
“We’re trying to be as efficient as we can so that every dollar that we have goes to a classroom,” he said.
Lora said the Oklahoma City district has managed to improve academic rigor and culture, despite cutting between $35 million and $40 million from the budget over the past two years.
Overall suspension rates are down 26 percent and reading scores are climbing, she added.
“We’re doing a better job of keeping kids in school,” she said.
Lora credited dedicated teachers and staff for the improvements, along with support from community partners such as the Chamber and the Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, which manages several income-generating programs for the district.
“We do face a number of huge budget challenges,” she said. “We can either let this budget situation paralyze us or we can let it teach us how to be crafty and how to find ways to succeed, in spite of these challenges.”
“We will not be discouraged when it feels overwhelming,” she said. “We will get through this, but we can’t do it alone and this is where we really do need your help.”
Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis followed Lora to the podium, and stressed the need to properly fund higher education so it can fulfill its role as a driver of economic development.
“We’re training the talent that our industries need,” Hargis said. “If they can’t get that talent, either they’re not going to grow or they might actually leave.”
About 24 percent of Oklahoma adults have a college degree, which is not enough to fill thousands of critical jobs that are open now, he said. Studies show twothirds of jobs by 2020 will require some level of postsecondary education.
“So it’s very important that we have more college grads,” Hargis said. “We’re giving all these great incentives to companies, but we’re not giving them the human capital that they need to really be successful.”
It takes money to produce quality graduates, but it’s a great investment, he said, noting that for every dollar the state spends on higher education, it gets about $4 back.
“I want to be able to recruit great faculty who do great research and bring a lot of money in from outside. And that is a real challenge the way we’re going,” Hargis said.
“This is a great state with great people. We’ve just got to get more of us educated so that we can serve the future.”