State Question 744: Increasing funding per-pupil

TULSA, Okla. - On November 2, Oklahoma voters will tackle a lot of sticky issues, not the least of which is State Question 744, which would mandate that the state base its per-pupil spending on what other states in the region spend.

Supporters of 744 say when it comes to funding per-pupil, Oklahoma ranks as the lowest in the region.

The idea behind State Question 744 is to bring per-pupil spending up to the regional average.

If 744 passes, it would be fully funded in three years.

"Our kids aren't getting what they deserve in the classroom, and they're not getting it by keeping the good teachers and bringing in the best teachers from the surrounding areas," said Tim Gilpin, a member of the Oklahoma State Board of Education.

But it's how to fund it that has an organization affiliated with the state chamber, the One Oklahoma Coalition, united against it.

"There's no way to pay for it so the only things we have to do to pay for it are either to cut state services dramatically for every other agency or to increase taxes to pay for it," said Jeff Wilson with the One Oklahoma Coalition.

However, supporters say the money is there. For starters, they say the state needs to stop giving tax exemptions to companies that end up going belly up.

"The spending priorities and what the politicians have done is going to have to stop," said Gilpin.

Plus, they say if the state's revenue growth is applied to education that would pay for it too, without having to cut other services.

Still the coalition isn't buying it.

"It's really disingenuous to say that we can just fund this through growth revenue, or we'll just tinker with eliminating waste," said Wilson.

But Gilpin sees it differently. He says if we don't invest in our youth, then we're not investing in our state.

"Education is a fundamental building block for economic development. Without it, we're never going to produce or attract the career jobs that Oklahoma deserves and needs," said Gilpin.

"We're being sold a hope, that's not really what we need here," said Wilson.

Separately, voters will also see State Question 754 on the ballot. It's basically the opposite of State Question 744.

It says the state Constitution could not require the legislature to fund state functions based on predetermined constitutional formulas, how much other states spend on a function and how much any entity spends on a function.

So what happens if both questions pass?

State statute says if there are two opposing questions on the ballot the one that receives the most votes would trump the other.