We've all seen and heard it before - the old game of the Red Herring, when a politician does a little Texas Sidestep to avoid answering questions about such things as "rocket surgery" or "brain science". The questions lately that politicians have been asked, which have triggered their Texas Sidestep reflex, have been questions about how to fund a teacher pay raise. Many politicians have broken down immediately into their routine of avoiding the question. Their motto is "If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bull****". The best example of this phenomenon is the "Cheers" routine, where a politician enters the bar and is campaigning for re-election.
The question posed most often concerning public schools is "How do we get more money to the classroom and fund teacher pay raises?" Most politicians have practiced their answer over and over again, in front of a mirror, so they will have their answer down pat - and regurgitate it reflexively when asked. Some legislator politicians have even authored bills, which do not answer the question - but sounds really swell to those voters who elected them (refer back to the "Cheers" routine).
Some bills, such as Senate Bill 133 illustrate the red herring phenomenon very well, when the question "How do we fund a teacher pay raise?" is asked. We determined last week how capping superintendent salaries could potentially save about $1,000,000 which could go to teacher pay raises in only approximately 25% of the school districts. While $1 million sounds like a lot of money, it represents only about 2% of superintendent salaries and only about .0002% of total expenditures. Senate Bill 133 will do virtually nothing for teacher pay raises nor will it do anything toward more money to the classroom.
Some more facts about public school administrative costs for FY 2016, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics include:
* Administrative costs accounted for only 3.67% of expenditures
* Superintendent compensation accounted for only 1% of all public school expenditures
* Oklahoma's student to administrator ratio (238 students to every one administrator) is 42nd in the nation. (Administrators include superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, and assistant principals)
* Oklahoma could hire 300 more administrators and still not reach the national average
* When you include only superintendents and assistant superintendents, Oklahoma's student to
administrator ratio ranks 43rd in the nation at 1,238 to 1
* Oklahoma ranks 43rd nationally in per-pupil administration spending
Many public school statistics experts believe that Senate Bill 133 is a red herring bill because it does nothing to solve the school funding crisis (as evidenced above), although several lawmakers claim it does so.
Senate Bill 514 is recognized as a forced school consolidation bill which could also be construed as another "red herring" bill. The bill requires the State Department of Education to publish a list of all... school districts that had an ADM (number of students) of less than 500... average for 3 years, and located less than 65 miles from another school district. A school district included in the list... shall agree to consolidate with or be annexed to another school district or districts... A school district included in the list... that does not submit a petition to consolidate or annex by June 30, 2018, shall be consolidated or annexed by the State Board of Education... A school district consolidated or annexed... shall have no more than one superintendent.
Much like Senate Bill 133, SB 514 is designed to fool the public into thinking that by implementing it, schools will save $millions and be able to provide teachers with pay raises. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. Anecdotal data and research indicate that very little money if any at all will be saved through forced consolidations. As a matter of fact, the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) in conjunction with the State Department of Education (SDE) states that:
* Consolidations and annexations happen every year in Oklahoma on their own through locally controlled decisions. (Since 2007 there have been 27 public school consolidations or annexations in Oklahoma.)
* While traditional public schools have been consolidating and annexing, Oklahoma's total school district numbers have still increased with the addition of 33 charter and virtual charter schools since 2000.
* Consolidation of schools will not increase per pupil expenditures. Consolidation experiences from other states have shown little to no noticeable cost savings. As a matter of fact, Arkansas's rural consolidation plan in 2004 (much like Oklahoma's SB 514) found no reduction in administration spending or in the size of administration.
* Oklahoma is 48th in per pupil expenditures in the nation. If Oklahoma schools were consolidated into one district with only one superintendent, Oklahoma would still be 48th in the nation in expenditures per student.
In order to truly entertain the notion that by consolidating schools with less than 500 students into the nearest school, money can be saved: Anecdotal evidence was examined when only one school with less than 500 students is consolidated with a larger school, only 5 miles away. If administrative consolidation was forced between the school districts, no money is saved. As a matter of fact, administrative costs increased.
The rule of thumb should be, as far as school consolidation and annexation, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is", and in the case of Senate Bill 514, it fits the bill...
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