Senate Bill 560 - Vouchers

   Senate Bill 560 (school vouchers) passed the Senate Education Committee today on a vote of 8 yes to 7 no. School vouchers represent a direct funding cut to Oklahoma public schools. Vouchers allow children who have never attended public schools to receive public money and subsidize private school for students - at the expense of our public school students! Similar voucher programs in other states have been costly for public schools and have mostly provided $$$ for higher income families.
   The senators who voted no, (do not provide vouchers for qualified parents) included Dossett, Dugger, Pemberton, Smalley, Sykes, Thompson, and Sharp. These senators were made up of six conservative republicans and one conservative democrat who do not want to see public funding transferred to corporate and private schools at the expense of our public school kids. Our public schools thank these senators for supporting Oklahoma's public school students.
   The senators who voted yes, (please provide vouchers for qualified parents) included Mark Allen (R), Michael Bergstrom (R), Eddie Fields (R) - this one shocked our public schools, Kyle Loveless (R), Anastasia Pittman (D), Paul Scott (R), Gary Stanislawski (R), and Greg Treat (R). They were made up of seven corporate republicans and one corporate democrat who would like to see more public funding transferred to corporate and private schools. These senators must be considered allies of Betsy DeVos, the voucher promoter in Washington D.C.. Mrs. DeVos, the new U.S. Secretary of Education, has donated $ thousands to the campaign coffers of many of these senators, including Rob Standridge (R), the SB 560 author.
   I'd like to shine a light on one senator in particular - Paul Scott (R) of Senate District 43 from Duncan. Mr. Scott was touted as a pro-public school candidate by one public school group this past election season. He voted YES, full-steam ahead for school vouchers today. I, too, believed Mr. Scott was a public school supporter, until today's vote. If I'm wrong, and Paul Scott truly does support our rural public schools, someone please tell me why he voted yes. His "no" vote would have swung the decision the other direction (in favor of public school students), as the Majority Leader, Greg Treat, was the tie breaker for a 7 to 7 stand-off. If Paul Scott would have voted "no", it would not have gone to the tie-breaker. This post has been fast and furious, as more public school votes will soon follow in rapid succession.