The Echo

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/05/27/357614okxgreducationcutbacks_ap.html?tkn=ZSLF7vgOz%2Bqpb2PAC6iz41oenkoNbB9xom21&cmp=clp-edweek

Okla. Lawmakers Suspend School Improvement Initiatives


Oklahoma City
State lawmakers approved a bill Thursday to roll back several initiatives aimed at improving public education across Oklahoma, like required professional development for teachers, to help schools grapple with declining revenue.

Several Democrats in the Senate voiced concern that the measure would eliminate progress in recent years to improve the state's public school system.
"Do we really want to do away with public education in Oklahoma?" asked Sen. Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne. "We're dismantling what we've worked so many years for."

The bill passed the Senate 39-7. It now heads to the governor's desk.

Democrats accused GOP leaders of failing to fund education adequately and expressed fear the two-year moratorium on the initiatives could be made permanent.

Among the initiatives rolled back in the bill are requirements for professional development programs for teachers and administrators, and penalties for schools that don't meet media materials requirements. It also exempts schools from appointing a textbook committee for two years and allows districts to spend textbook money for general operations.

The bill also suspends for two years new applications for a state program that offers a $5,000 annual stipend for teachers who attain National Board certification.

A provision that would have allowed districts to temporarily exceed class-size requirements was removed from the bill.

Senate author James Halligan, R-Stillwater, said the bill will give local districts the flexibility they need to address budget shortfalls and retain more teachers.

"I have a lot of confidence in the people I interact with in the local school boards. I think we ought to give them flexibility," said Halligan, the former Oklahoma State University president. "In two years, I will be opposed to extending these provisions."

But Herb Rozell, a former state senator recently appointed to the state Board of Education, said during a board meeting Thursday the plan was shortsighted.

"For an ex-president of a university to come up with this is about as stupid as I've ever seen," Rozell said.

State Superintendent Sandy Garrett said she agrees with the concept of the bill, given the dire financial situation facing schools in the state.

"We do agree that flexibility needs to happen ... for a couple of years here, until we get through this hard time," Garrett said.