Oklahoma teachers walk, and I'm hoping for a brighter future

(Photo by Ian L/FreeRangeStock.com)

My daughter began her third year in the Oklahoma public education system last fall as her school struggled with another reduction in its budget. But that's nothing new for Oklahoma schools, or any Oklahoma agency for that matter, as revenue declines have resulted in across-the-board cuts.

Public educators have decided enough is enough, and on April 2, they walked. My daughter has not been in school since March 29, the day before Good Friday. And I'm OK with that and hope we see some positive change.

According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, the state has been leading the nation in public education cuts for several years now. Recent news stories have recounted the fallout:

• A Tulsa teacher went panhandling for classroom supplies last fall.
• The state's 2016 Teacher of the Year moved to Texas and got a $20K bump in his annual salary.
• As teachers have left, districts have struggled to fill faculty vacancies. As of fall 2017, the Oklahoma Department of Education had issued more than 1,800 emergency teacher certifications to keep classrooms staffed.
• A school in eastern Oklahoma held a fundraiser in an effort to keep an agriculture teacher position that was being eliminated.
• Scores of districts in the state have gone to four-day weeks to reduce expenses.

And those are just the problems I can think of.

To be fair, I've read about more of the negative effects of the continual budget cuts than I've witnessed at my daughter's school, but I've still seen a few — old and worn textbooks, not enough gym space, worksheets photocopied onto a half-sheet of paper, etc. So far, nothing major, but then, my daughter is only in first grade. I'm that if the Legislature doesn't allocate enough funding, I'll see a lot more negative consequences as she moves through the grades.

That's why I'm hoping for a total turnaround in the way Oklahoma lawmakers have handled school funding. I am hoping the teachers are successful. I am hoping for a brighter future for my daughter, all her classmates and all other students going to public schools (and colleges and universities) in Oklahoma.