That’s because, she contends, they won’t give candid opinions if what they say — or at least what they put in writing — can become public through an open records request. “We want it as open and transparent as humanly possible without being disruptive to people being able to candidly and openly express their opinion […]
op-ed
Posted inNews
Schools and after-school exercise
However, schools across Oklahoma — fearful of costly lawsuits and damage to property and the potential drain this could have to already strained budgets — have begun to lock their doors and turn out their lights after school ends each day. It’s our schoolchildren and our future that suffer because of this. Nearly 50 percent […]
Posted inNews
Medicaid expansion is affordable, and vital
Under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, the federal government will pay the lion’s share of the cost for Oklahoma to extend SoonerCare coverage to most uninsured low-income adults. This would provide coverage to about 150,000 residents living near the poverty level. Expanding Medicaid would cut Oklahoma County’s uninsured population nearly in half, with more […]
Posted inNews
The fallacy of test-driven school reform
Credit: Mark Hancock I have taught in the inner city for 19 years, have served on the MAPS for Kids Steering Committee and have been intimately involved in local education reform. MAPS promised policies based on our best social science and the collaborative exchange of evidence. We promised high-quality early education, intensive instruction of reading […]
Posted inNews
Decisions of politics and compassion
We know what is causing the pain. Jane has a bad gallbladder that is full of stones — easy to fix. In the hospital Friday morning for surgery, home Friday afternoon, back at work Monday morning. Like hundreds of thousands of hardworking Oklahomans, Jane has no insurance and no way to pay for the surgery. […]
Posted inNews
The road not taken
In contradistinction, the relegation of decision-making to a small number of policymakers with homogeneous thought processes and goals risks error.InI The Ikea Effect in Business states that one who is responsible and emotionally invested in the creation of an idea will be more likely to resist the alteration or rejection of the idea even if […]
Posted inNews
Boulevard of broken dreams?
Their rationale is that our vibrant arts community has limited area for expansion; making it unlikely that it could develop in Bricktown or the much-beloved Paseo District. The center of interest for a “new Santa Fe” is in the Market District with the Farmers Public Market as the hub. There is ample room for art […]
Posted inNews
Loving our guns to death
So let the people say amen! If only it were this simple. The truth is, people with guns kill people, and in America, we kill more people with guns than anywhere else on earth. In America, where citizens can legally buy assault rifles with high-capacity ammunition clips, disturbed or despondent young white males commit mass […]
Posted inNews
Hey, Legislature, nothing’s happening here!
In 1971, the Legislature enacted laws authorizing public school district employees to collectively bargain. The power of employee unions in the district has grown incrementally ever since, including a teachers’ strike that shut down the district in 1979. Although the American Federation of Teachers recently has acknowledged the need for more teacher training and accountability, […]
Posted inNews
Questioning power and authority
So why do we, as citizens, often treat police officers with a general mistrust, suspicion and fear? The answer is both simple and complex. Americans are wary about police officers because we have entrusted them with such a critical duty. More important, we have handed to them an authority that — even if slightly abused […]