Janet Barresi Credit: Mark Hancock The study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending in the state decreased 20.3 percent from fiscal years 2008 to 2013. Alabama was second from the bottom, and Arizona had the biggest decrease. The study found Oklahoma spends $706 less per student now than […]
funding
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Point: Slow down on ODOT funding
One of the few exceptions to the hard times is the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Following a long stretch in which state investment in roads and bridges remained virtually flat, the Legislature in 2005 created the ROADS (Rebuilding Oklahoma Access and Driver Safety) fund. Revenues for this fund come directly from personal income tax collections, […]
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Counterpoint: Roads funding is critical
Over the past six years, the Legislature, along with Gov. Mary Fallin and former Gov. Brad Henry, have rightfully positioned transportation as a core priority. Oklahomans should be thankful. Recently the Oklahoma Policy Institute questioned the investment that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation has received in recent years. Yes, transportation has received marked appropriation increases […]
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Term of art
Robbie Kienzle, the Planning Department’s former head of urban development, started in the new role last month. The post oversees public-art spending, which is required by a 2009 City Council-approved plan that sets aside 1 percent of construction expenses for public art. In addition, she will oversee the city Arts Commission, coordinate activities with local […]
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Caged heat
Credit: Shannon Cornman The comments were part of a larger discussion among the council at its June 16 meeting about what to do with a $1.3 million surplus to the city budget and whether to put that money into expanded bus service, street maintenance, or the hiring of more police officers. Shadid questioned why there […]
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Chipping in
The move by the city is the latest in an effort to raise $40 million in non-state dollars in order for state lawmakers to fund a matching $40 million that would complete the partially constructed cultural center. Located on the south bank of the Oklahoma River west of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the center […]
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For art’s sake
Oklahoma City businessman Jim Tolbert is set to lead the new group, Oklahomans for the Arts, and is joined by public relations executive Kym Koch Thompson and Tulsa arts advocate and volunteer Linda Frazier. According to the founders, the main goal of the group is to inform people about the economic importance of art in […]
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State of flux
The February meeting was more cordial than the previous meeting, in which state Superintendent Janet Barresi locked horns with board members. Former state Sen. Herb Rozell, the member state Republicans demanded resign following comments about one of Barresi’s legislative liaison appointments, was absent from the meeting. Tim Gilpin, who in the previous meeting told Barresi […]