OKLAHOMA CITY - Governor Mary Fallin proposed Monday that the state dip into its savings account to help ease Oklahoma's budget crisis.
The Governor suggested using $51 million for public schools and $21 million for the Department of Corrections.
The rainy day fund contains $385 million. $114.4 million is available to address the 2016 budget hole in the Oklahoma economy.
Below is what the Governor Fallin said in the statement released Monday.
"Four-day school weeks and draconian cuts at prisons are not acceptable and are not going to happen. The deepened revenue failure cuts have changed the budget situation in a way that requires immediate action, so I support accessing the Rainy Day Fund for common education and prisons,” “This is the most responsible option available today to keep vital state services at acceptable levels until the Legislature and I reach agreement on the recurring revenues necessary to fund these services in the long run."
"We must put recurring revenues on the table this session, like I proposed in my executive budget, or we will be having this same problem next year, the year after that and years after that. The Rainy Day Fund option is a one-time fix, but we need to do the tough work to establish a permanent fix in the budget we pass this session."
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