I should apologize up front to my friend Rob Miller, fellow blogger, for using the title of his blog A View from the Edge in this post. This post is a view from high up, however, where everything is seen and interpreted - especially the actions of lawmakers as they passed the pay raise for Oklahoma teachers. The House passed HB 1010xx on a vote of 79 YES to 19 NO, and the Senate then voted 36 Yes to 7 NO, to send it to the governor for her signature. One would assume that it's cut and dried to become law, but hold on for a minute and consider the corporate mindset of those NO votes in both the House and Senate. Examination of factual statements and actions of one Representative Tim Downing (C) from either Purcell or Norman (my representative) over the last several weeks concerning teacher pay and public school funding - reveals the rhetoric and sometimes "outright lies" that some lawmakers utilize to garner support. One may also "follow the money" as a determining factor for the "No teacher raises ever" crowd. In following the money, Downing has over $100,000 in his campaign account (contributed mostly by outside the district and state corporate groups). Very little of his campaign funds originated with his District 42 constituents. Even the "dark money" support he's received originated with corporate groups such as the "Stand for School Vouchers" group, formerly led by the current U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVoss.
Mr. Downing released the following statement on March 20, regarding his votes on teacher pay raises: "I want to thank all of the teachers and others who have contacted me about the issue of teacher pay raises. I always support making Oklahoma competitive in teacher pay. I have voted for all the teacher pay bills presented to the House during regular and special legislative sessions over the past 14 months." A quick look back over the past 14 month history of Downing's support reveals he in fact did vote for one teacher pay raise bill (HB 1114), but it had no dedicated revenue stream to pay for it - so it eventually went up in smoke. He said it would be paid for by "eliminating government handouts and waste" such as the elimination of credits and rebates for wind. Downing probably knew the half-baked bill wouldn't fly, but seized the opportunity to support it, to garner teacher support.
In 2016, Downing voted "No" on the one-cent sales tax for a teachers' pay raise because he believes taxes should not increase for any reason, much less a teacher pay increase. Downing also voted "No" on the "Step Up" plan several months ago for Oklahoma schools, because he's against raising taxes in general, even for teachers - who are still ranked 50th among states for annual salary. OK, we'll give him credit on this one, because most of the tax increases were regressive (affecting middle income tax payers more than the wealthy). As a matter of fact, Uncle Harold "Country Ham" urged him to vote "Yes", because it only increased the gross production tax to 4% (What Harold saw coming was the peoples vote on a 7% GPT, or what has transpired - a 5% GPT). Just this week, Downing also voted "No" on HB 1010XX mentioned above, presumably because Uncle Harold was in the gallery observing the vote (remember where most of Downing's campaign money and support originates, and the bill will increase Harold's tax burden to 5%, which will make his wallet only a little lighter). Many corporate billionaires have threatened to leave Oklahoma if the GPT increases. We will now find out if their threats are carried out.
So now, Downing's documented statement that ... I have voted for all teacher pay bills... must be judged as inaccurate.
All hope is not lost, however, for Uncle Harold, Hillbilly Doug, and Cousin Larry (The OK hillbillies of the World Corporate Federation (WCF) - as another group, Oklahoma Corporate United, otherwise known as Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite! from parts unknown, has been invented to fight the GPT. It will be circulating a petition for citizens to sign which will allow a vote to repeal the "still lowest GPT in the nation" - 5%. The tag-team tricks of the corporate oil executives are never-ending, so look for them never to give up...
Next time well take a look at one bill Downing truly does support (House Bill 2782), because it takes funding away from our public school students - and the rationale behind it...
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Monday, March 26, 2018
Corporate Lawmakers and the War on Our Public Schools
Lawrence Baines, associate dean for graduate studies and research at the University of Oklahoma Jeanine Rainbolt College of Education, and Jim Machell (dean of the College of Education at the University of Central Oklahoma) recently wrote a commentary for Education Week entitled The War on Teachers Comes to Oklahoma. Baines and Machell lament that "The impending teacher strike in Oklahoma is a crucible of the future of public school teachers in America.", and point to the federal government as the enemy now waging the war on teachers and public schools in general. While the war on our public schools began with Arne Duncan (the U.S. Department of Education Secretary under Barack Obama) supporting corporate charter schools and private schools in the acquisition of federal tax dollars, the war has continued and even accelerated under Betsy DeVos, the present U.S.D.E Secretary. Dr. Baines and Dr. Machell go on to state that the War has now trickled down to Oklahoma and is being waged by some of our own state legislators, namely "corporate" lawmakers (not liberal or conservative) who are under the direction of Betsy DeVos. These Oklahoma State Legislators have led the nation in reducing per-pupil expenditures since 2008 and "...continued to turn 'their collective backs' on public education in shocking ways. Last year, in the midst of a billion-dollar budget shortfall, 'corporate legislators' considered new voucher laws that would have redirected hundreds of millions of dollars to private schools." Just this year, a corporate lawmaker - Tim Downing introduced House Bill 2782, which will direct $millions more to private schools, and away from public schools. HB 2782 is called the "taxpayer bill" because it's the Oklahoma taxpayer who will foot the "bill". Also, "In an illogical move, 'corporate lawmakers' cut taxes on oil production from 7% to 2% in 2014" and will fight to prevent the rate from being restored to 7%. "This was a painful cut and hurt the state deeply."
Oklahoma was first almost injured beyond repair during the late 1920's and 1930's when federal farming subsidies (known as "corporate welfare") were provided to out-of-state corporate farmers, known as "suitcase farmers", to plow up the top-soil and plant wheat. What resulted was the greatest man-made disaster the world has ever known - the Dust Bowl. Our own Oklahoma State Legislature was in cahoots with the federal government even back then, just as it is today. Oklahoma Legislators responsible for the "Dust Bowl of public education" make many politically correct statements (rhetoric) regarding our public schools, but which are inaccurate and sometimes just untrue.
As we get closer to the April 2 teacher walk-out, corporate lawmakers are getting nervous and will unveil the newest "Hail Mary" teacher pay raise. As a matter of fact, House leadership is immediately releasing a Teacher Pay Raise Plan Explored, and allowed the House corporate membership to modify - to fit their respective individual districts. Individual district reps. may simply "insert name" to get full credit for the Transformational (Sic) Teacher Pay Raise (TTPR) plan. The heading of the provided letter reads:
Teacher Pay Raise Plan Explored
By Rep. (insert name here)
The form letter begins by making brash statements about how much the corporate lawmaker supports teachers and public schools such as "I always support making Oklahoma competitive in teacher pay" and " I have voted for all teacher pay bills presented to the House during regular and special legislative sessions over the past 14 months (not true). It is important to note that many corporate lawmakers do not consider "teacher pay bills" as teacher pay bills if the bill provides funding for appropriate school operational services or state employee raises. "I have heard some misunderstanding by some that I do not support teachers or schools because I voted against bills that were literally the largest tax increases in state history..." Good corporate spin, but what the corporate lawmaker calls tax increases is actually a restoration of tax rates that have been cut over the past 10 years. For example, restoring the gross production tax to 5% from its present 2% is not a massive tax increase, as the GPT used to be 7%. However, (Insert name, or I) have consistently voted for measures that eliminated government handouts and waste... (Instructions from corporate leadership dictate that the Rep. not get too detailed about specific handouts and waste eliminated, as this could come back to bite the Rep. later). For instance, corporate bosses believe that public education is a government handout and "waste" is a teacher pay raise. However, many corporate lawmakers believe a little school consolidation could help solve this problem. Also, several corporate legislators believe that public school waste could be eliminated by authoring and passing school voucher bills like HB 2782. Another corporate example of government waste is noted in the statement ... the elimination of credits and rebates for wind and energy... (wind and energy) or (wind energy)? It is unknown what energy the corporate leadership refers, but it's probably not oil and gas - since most corporate legislators have received $ tens of thousands from the oil and gas industry for their campaign war chests.
The details of the TTPR will undoubtedly be unveiled before April 2, as a carrot for teachers to delay the scheduled walk-out. It's anyone's guess as to this pay plan's ability to stem the tide and prevent a teacher strike, but many believe it won't do the trick. We should know something by Wednesday, March 28, if this latest in a long string of teacher pay plans is successful. Stay tuned..
Monday night, March 26... It looks like the House may pass a teacher pay raise plan, but it won't be Downing's darling - as most of the plan appears to rely on "massive tax increases" (in Downing's words) for the pay raise. However, it is still to be seen how he votes on the bill, so he may still love it.
Oklahoma was first almost injured beyond repair during the late 1920's and 1930's when federal farming subsidies (known as "corporate welfare") were provided to out-of-state corporate farmers, known as "suitcase farmers", to plow up the top-soil and plant wheat. What resulted was the greatest man-made disaster the world has ever known - the Dust Bowl. Our own Oklahoma State Legislature was in cahoots with the federal government even back then, just as it is today. Oklahoma Legislators responsible for the "Dust Bowl of public education" make many politically correct statements (rhetoric) regarding our public schools, but which are inaccurate and sometimes just untrue.
As we get closer to the April 2 teacher walk-out, corporate lawmakers are getting nervous and will unveil the newest "Hail Mary" teacher pay raise. As a matter of fact, House leadership is immediately releasing a Teacher Pay Raise Plan Explored, and allowed the House corporate membership to modify - to fit their respective individual districts. Individual district reps. may simply "insert name" to get full credit for the Transformational (Sic) Teacher Pay Raise (TTPR) plan. The heading of the provided letter reads:
Teacher Pay Raise Plan Explored
By Rep. (insert name here)
The form letter begins by making brash statements about how much the corporate lawmaker supports teachers and public schools such as "I always support making Oklahoma competitive in teacher pay" and " I have voted for all teacher pay bills presented to the House during regular and special legislative sessions over the past 14 months (not true). It is important to note that many corporate lawmakers do not consider "teacher pay bills" as teacher pay bills if the bill provides funding for appropriate school operational services or state employee raises. "I have heard some misunderstanding by some that I do not support teachers or schools because I voted against bills that were literally the largest tax increases in state history..." Good corporate spin, but what the corporate lawmaker calls tax increases is actually a restoration of tax rates that have been cut over the past 10 years. For example, restoring the gross production tax to 5% from its present 2% is not a massive tax increase, as the GPT used to be 7%. However, (Insert name, or I) have consistently voted for measures that eliminated government handouts and waste... (Instructions from corporate leadership dictate that the Rep. not get too detailed about specific handouts and waste eliminated, as this could come back to bite the Rep. later). For instance, corporate bosses believe that public education is a government handout and "waste" is a teacher pay raise. However, many corporate lawmakers believe a little school consolidation could help solve this problem. Also, several corporate legislators believe that public school waste could be eliminated by authoring and passing school voucher bills like HB 2782. Another corporate example of government waste is noted in the statement ... the elimination of credits and rebates for wind and energy... (wind and energy) or (wind energy)? It is unknown what energy the corporate leadership refers, but it's probably not oil and gas - since most corporate legislators have received $ tens of thousands from the oil and gas industry for their campaign war chests.
The details of the TTPR will undoubtedly be unveiled before April 2, as a carrot for teachers to delay the scheduled walk-out. It's anyone's guess as to this pay plan's ability to stem the tide and prevent a teacher strike, but many believe it won't do the trick. We should know something by Wednesday, March 28, if this latest in a long string of teacher pay plans is successful. Stay tuned..
Monday night, March 26... It looks like the House may pass a teacher pay raise plan, but it won't be Downing's darling - as most of the plan appears to rely on "massive tax increases" (in Downing's words) for the pay raise. However, it is still to be seen how he votes on the bill, so he may still love it.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Harold Hamm opposed to Gross Production Tax
As many who regularly read this blog know - I sometimes provide satirical analogies to real life politicians and corporate CEOs, to help readers understand the motivations behind our corporate lawmakers' actions at the state capitol... and for lighthearted entertainment. For instance, I've likened several of our former elected state lawmakers to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because of their "sex offending", "child molesting", and felonious practices... By the way, they were corporate lawmakers, not conservative or liberal...
Many people remember The Hillbillies as a World Wrestling Federation group during the 1980's - made up of the patriarch Uncle Elmer, along with Hillbilly Jim, Cousin Junior, and Cousin Luke. They often feuded with other WWF wrestlers including Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bob Orton Jr., Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and "Adorable" Adrian Adonis. The Hillbillies main gimmick for entertainment was that of simple-minded country folk who performed square dances in the ring, just before dropping the hammer on opponents. Uncle Elmer was perpetually eating from an enormous bucket labeled "Uncle Elmer's fried pig parts" as "The Hillbillies" buried the competition. This scenario of characters came to mind, as I read recently that the State Supreme Court has cleared the way for a vote of the people - to increase the gross production tax rate from the present 2%... to 7%.
The "stand-in" Hillbillies from Oklahoma, or OK Hillbillies, are Uncle Harold or "Country Ham", Hillbilly Doug, and Cousin Larry. All three are just "Hillbilly wanna-be's" however, as they are multi-billion dollar oil CEO's who take on state legislators which haven't bought in to their corporate philosophy. They've also had an ongoing feud with another "tag team" - the Wind Farm Tornadoes, also from the WCF (World Corporatization Federation). The OK Hillbillies, not to be confused with the Beverly Hillbillies (although the Beverly Hillbillies also dabbled in professional wrestling during one episode in which Granny took on the Boston Strong Girl) simply want to identify with Oklahomans, who they believe are real hillbillies. The Billionaire OK Hillbillies believe they should pay $0 in corporate income tax and $0 in gross production tax, so the next big battle is now shaping up.
Uncle Harold will probably be toting his giant bucket into the ring, labeled Uncle Harold's fried politician parts, as he battles the Oklahoma voters who will probably be voting to increase the gross production tax from 2% to 7% in the fall. (The "fried politician parts" are from those legislators who haven't been paid off by Uncle Harold, Hillbilly Doug, or Cousin Larry). We're all excited to see how the tag-team championship for world domination unfolds over the next several months.
(On a related issue, the OK Corporate Hillbillies really did "sacrifice" a gross production tax increase from 2% to 4%, in supporting the Oklahoma Step-Up Plan for providing a teacher pay raise. It is now very clear they wanted to avoid the much bigger sacrifice of increasing it to 7%.)
Many people remember The Hillbillies as a World Wrestling Federation group during the 1980's - made up of the patriarch Uncle Elmer, along with Hillbilly Jim, Cousin Junior, and Cousin Luke. They often feuded with other WWF wrestlers including Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bob Orton Jr., Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and "Adorable" Adrian Adonis. The Hillbillies main gimmick for entertainment was that of simple-minded country folk who performed square dances in the ring, just before dropping the hammer on opponents. Uncle Elmer was perpetually eating from an enormous bucket labeled "Uncle Elmer's fried pig parts" as "The Hillbillies" buried the competition. This scenario of characters came to mind, as I read recently that the State Supreme Court has cleared the way for a vote of the people - to increase the gross production tax rate from the present 2%... to 7%.
The "stand-in" Hillbillies from Oklahoma, or OK Hillbillies, are Uncle Harold or "Country Ham", Hillbilly Doug, and Cousin Larry. All three are just "Hillbilly wanna-be's" however, as they are multi-billion dollar oil CEO's who take on state legislators which haven't bought in to their corporate philosophy. They've also had an ongoing feud with another "tag team" - the Wind Farm Tornadoes, also from the WCF (World Corporatization Federation). The OK Hillbillies, not to be confused with the Beverly Hillbillies (although the Beverly Hillbillies also dabbled in professional wrestling during one episode in which Granny took on the Boston Strong Girl) simply want to identify with Oklahomans, who they believe are real hillbillies. The Billionaire OK Hillbillies believe they should pay $0 in corporate income tax and $0 in gross production tax, so the next big battle is now shaping up.
Uncle Harold will probably be toting his giant bucket into the ring, labeled Uncle Harold's fried politician parts, as he battles the Oklahoma voters who will probably be voting to increase the gross production tax from 2% to 7% in the fall. (The "fried politician parts" are from those legislators who haven't been paid off by Uncle Harold, Hillbilly Doug, or Cousin Larry). We're all excited to see how the tag-team championship for world domination unfolds over the next several months.
(On a related issue, the OK Corporate Hillbillies really did "sacrifice" a gross production tax increase from 2% to 4%, in supporting the Oklahoma Step-Up Plan for providing a teacher pay raise. It is now very clear they wanted to avoid the much bigger sacrifice of increasing it to 7%.)
Friday, March 16, 2018
Retired teachers left out of teacher pay raise plan
When I attended elementary school during the mid 1960's, I had a friend whose mother was a teacher. He and I were very close, and still are today, so he related the following about his family back then:
His mother intended to be only a "house-wife" when she married his father in 1955, and the two had three children by 1960. His father toured the pro-rodeo circuit prior to 1964 and provided for the family by winning bull-riding and steer-wrestling competitions nation-wide. He began working in oil field construction after retiring from rodeo, and provided quite well for the family - until becoming disabled at this time. My friend's mother then decided to "go back to school" and become certified to teach. Little did she know at the time, that teaching in public schools would never pay the bills, and be considered by some Oklahoma lawmakers to be a dishonorable profession. He recently told me that he saw one of his mother's monthly pay checks at the time - it amounted to about $290, and according to one present day corporate lawmaker, Representative Jeff Coody (R) of Lawton - was probably obtained by "extortion". Coody always spouts the "corporate line" concerning our public schools and teachers - "I truly do support our public schools, and teachers definitely need a pay raise", but whose actions and candid statements indicate just the opposite...
My friend's mother began bringing home food from the grocery store (or so he thought) contained in big silver cans. Cheese, green beans, corn, etc.. were contained in these "tin" cans, which had "commodity" stamped on the side. He and his two siblings didn't know at the time they were on "welfare" in order to be fed, but wondered why their canned food wasn't stamped "Jolly Green Giant" that existed in grocery stores... (must have been on a different aisle).
The friend from elementary school eventually became a Baptist minister, and prays for our public school teachers every day, these days. I was visiting with his mother (now a retired teacher) recently, and she said to me - "I hope you are supporting your teachers (during this proposed walk-out) for higher pay... because you know what I went through." I assured her I do support our teachers, because I do know what they've been through, and will continue to share their fight for a living wage and respect.
(On a sidenote, my school friend from long ago told me another story from his mother's days as a teacher - It seems that his mother had applied for some sort of "lead teacher" role in the school for which she could receive an annual salary increase of $200, which would have amounted to about $12 per month increase in take-home pay. She thought surely she would receive the advancement because she had more experience than many other applicants and was the sole bread-winner for her family. The superintendent called her and a male teacher to his office and awarded the job to the man, because, as the supt. said: "He has a family to feed, and really needs the money". My friend said he never knew this while growing up, but his mother related this story to him while discussing the recent teacher walk-out news.)
Update: Wednesday, March 28: By now, most Oklahomans know that teachers will receive a much needed pay raise beginning next year. The group being left out now is our retired teachers. They have not received a "cost of living allowance" (COLA) for about ten years now. In many peoples opinion, our retired teachers have been abused by corporate lawmakers (even more than active teachers). Several corporate lawmakers, including our own Representative Tim Downing, have endeared themselves to teachers, so as to garner their support. One top teacher in Oklahoma even went so far as to say that "Tim Downing truly supports teachers" (Check out his election website). Mr. Downing has always voted no teacher pay increase on every teacher pay bill that's come up. He always says "I do not support massive tax increases to afford a teacher pay raise", but has never offered a plan of his own which doesn't rely on tax increases. In many Oklahomans' opinion - Mr. Downing has never offered an alternative plan for providing a teacher pay raise because he's not capable. He just always votes "no" teacher pay, but utilizes political rhetoric to convince teachers he's really on their side.
He has also spoken to several "retired teacher" groups and spewed his "I really do support retired teachers" speech in order to convince them to vote for him again... and again... and again... It's a safe bet that Mr. Downing will always vote "no" on COLA increases, just as he always does on teacher pay increases - especially if it would affect the profits of international corporations. It's a sad day for retired teachers, as they've been left out again... and a sad day for oil execs, as the GPT is likely to increase to 5%..., but a joyous day for active teachers, as their pay raise is now on the fast track - much to the consternation of Tim Downing and his ilk...
His mother intended to be only a "house-wife" when she married his father in 1955, and the two had three children by 1960. His father toured the pro-rodeo circuit prior to 1964 and provided for the family by winning bull-riding and steer-wrestling competitions nation-wide. He began working in oil field construction after retiring from rodeo, and provided quite well for the family - until becoming disabled at this time. My friend's mother then decided to "go back to school" and become certified to teach. Little did she know at the time, that teaching in public schools would never pay the bills, and be considered by some Oklahoma lawmakers to be a dishonorable profession. He recently told me that he saw one of his mother's monthly pay checks at the time - it amounted to about $290, and according to one present day corporate lawmaker, Representative Jeff Coody (R) of Lawton - was probably obtained by "extortion". Coody always spouts the "corporate line" concerning our public schools and teachers - "I truly do support our public schools, and teachers definitely need a pay raise", but whose actions and candid statements indicate just the opposite...
My friend's mother began bringing home food from the grocery store (or so he thought) contained in big silver cans. Cheese, green beans, corn, etc.. were contained in these "tin" cans, which had "commodity" stamped on the side. He and his two siblings didn't know at the time they were on "welfare" in order to be fed, but wondered why their canned food wasn't stamped "Jolly Green Giant" that existed in grocery stores... (must have been on a different aisle).
The friend from elementary school eventually became a Baptist minister, and prays for our public school teachers every day, these days. I was visiting with his mother (now a retired teacher) recently, and she said to me - "I hope you are supporting your teachers (during this proposed walk-out) for higher pay... because you know what I went through." I assured her I do support our teachers, because I do know what they've been through, and will continue to share their fight for a living wage and respect.
(On a sidenote, my school friend from long ago told me another story from his mother's days as a teacher - It seems that his mother had applied for some sort of "lead teacher" role in the school for which she could receive an annual salary increase of $200, which would have amounted to about $12 per month increase in take-home pay. She thought surely she would receive the advancement because she had more experience than many other applicants and was the sole bread-winner for her family. The superintendent called her and a male teacher to his office and awarded the job to the man, because, as the supt. said: "He has a family to feed, and really needs the money". My friend said he never knew this while growing up, but his mother related this story to him while discussing the recent teacher walk-out news.)
Update: Wednesday, March 28: By now, most Oklahomans know that teachers will receive a much needed pay raise beginning next year. The group being left out now is our retired teachers. They have not received a "cost of living allowance" (COLA) for about ten years now. In many peoples opinion, our retired teachers have been abused by corporate lawmakers (even more than active teachers). Several corporate lawmakers, including our own Representative Tim Downing, have endeared themselves to teachers, so as to garner their support. One top teacher in Oklahoma even went so far as to say that "Tim Downing truly supports teachers" (Check out his election website). Mr. Downing has always voted no teacher pay increase on every teacher pay bill that's come up. He always says "I do not support massive tax increases to afford a teacher pay raise", but has never offered a plan of his own which doesn't rely on tax increases. In many Oklahomans' opinion - Mr. Downing has never offered an alternative plan for providing a teacher pay raise because he's not capable. He just always votes "no" teacher pay, but utilizes political rhetoric to convince teachers he's really on their side.
He has also spoken to several "retired teacher" groups and spewed his "I really do support retired teachers" speech in order to convince them to vote for him again... and again... and again... It's a safe bet that Mr. Downing will always vote "no" on COLA increases, just as he always does on teacher pay increases - especially if it would affect the profits of international corporations. It's a sad day for retired teachers, as they've been left out again... and a sad day for oil execs, as the GPT is likely to increase to 5%..., but a joyous day for active teachers, as their pay raise is now on the fast track - much to the consternation of Tim Downing and his ilk...
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Teacher walk-out and Education Bills: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - SJR 70
As the Oklahoma teachers' walk-out is looming large, and is looking more probable as each day passes - corporate legislators are starting to sweat, and are scrambling to mislead the public into believing they are providing teacher pay raise bills. Senator Stephanie Bice tried to convince other lawmakers to vote for a school consolidation bill (SB 920) which would have consolidated all schools with 200 students or less (approximately 95). She tried to convince Oklahomans that her bill would put $millions back in the classroom and provide teachers a desperately needed pay raise. The lawmakers that Bice was trying to fool saw through the canard, and voted to sink it - eleven No votes, to only one Yes vote. The bill turned out to be just a distraction in providing teachers a pay raise, and would not have put one thin dime toward teachers salaries.
But Senator Bice, and now Senator Jason Smalley, have announced another bill to provide a teacher pay raise (Senate Joint Resolution 70). SJR 70, authored by Bice, but with avowed corporate charter school cheerleader Smalley telling anyone within earshot how much he knows about school funding - would (according to public school experts Smalley and Bice) allow schools to divert building funds (school ad valorem revenue) to teacher salaries. Bice wants this bill passed in a hurry, so a teacher walk-out is derailed on April 2. Teachers are smarter than what Bice and Smalley credit them, however, so they are unlikely to take the bait.
A closer look at the details of the bill reveals that SJR 70 is only a canard (private school term meaning "false narrative"), just as SB 920 was. The 5-mil building fund for any public school is the local property tax (ad valorem) revenue which can only be utilized by schools for building maintenance and upkeep, and even to build new schools. For example, a typical medium sized school with 2000 students receives 5 mils of net assessed valuation for property tax in its district. If the net assessed value of property within the district is $50,000,000, x .05 = $250,000 the school will receive to operate and maintain its buildings. The school may pay its utilities (gas and electric), pay for building repairs, and pay custodial/maintenance salaries from the $250,000 building fund. No building fund revenue is ever available to pay teacher salaries. If the school were to provide each teacher a $5000 annual salary increase from its building fund, the total raise would amount to approx. $500,000 (double its entire building fund). The school would not even be able to provide a $500 pay increase to teachers from the building fund. So, Bice and Smalley are hoping this canard of a bill will convince teachers to not walk-out.
Another medium sized school with 2000 students, but having almost double the net assessed value, would receive $500,000 in building fund revenue, so could hypothetically provide building fund revenue for teacher pay raises. If School B could provide more $ for teacher pay raises than School A, the inequity in teacher salaries from one school to the next would prove disastrous. Maybe this scenario is what corporate lawmakers want - schools will turn on each other as some schools can pay teachers much more than others. Think about it...
Since SJR 70 went up in smoke - several more teacher pay raise canards (had to look it up in the dictionary) have been trolled by corporate lawmakers, just to see if any teachers would take the bait. But teachers know that any proposed $20,000, $10,000, $5,000, or even $2,500 annual pay raise must have a dedicated revenue source. This means that any teacher salary increase cannot depend on one-time money, or it's a "bonus"... and a canard increase (House Bill 3440). Several teacher pay increase bills such as SB 133 depended on revenue already turned down by the House earlier, so was torpedoed. The Speaker of The House, Charley (Dapper Dan) McCall, introduced a teacher pay raise bill with no number attached, and with no dedicated revenue, so also bit the dirt. So far, all corporate lawmakers have been able to come up with are false narratives for teacher pay increases. We'll continue to monitor the state budget fiasco - to find out if the many corporate lawmakers can solve this problem...
But Senator Bice, and now Senator Jason Smalley, have announced another bill to provide a teacher pay raise (Senate Joint Resolution 70). SJR 70, authored by Bice, but with avowed corporate charter school cheerleader Smalley telling anyone within earshot how much he knows about school funding - would (according to public school experts Smalley and Bice) allow schools to divert building funds (school ad valorem revenue) to teacher salaries. Bice wants this bill passed in a hurry, so a teacher walk-out is derailed on April 2. Teachers are smarter than what Bice and Smalley credit them, however, so they are unlikely to take the bait.
A closer look at the details of the bill reveals that SJR 70 is only a canard (private school term meaning "false narrative"), just as SB 920 was. The 5-mil building fund for any public school is the local property tax (ad valorem) revenue which can only be utilized by schools for building maintenance and upkeep, and even to build new schools. For example, a typical medium sized school with 2000 students receives 5 mils of net assessed valuation for property tax in its district. If the net assessed value of property within the district is $50,000,000, x .05 = $250,000 the school will receive to operate and maintain its buildings. The school may pay its utilities (gas and electric), pay for building repairs, and pay custodial/maintenance salaries from the $250,000 building fund. No building fund revenue is ever available to pay teacher salaries. If the school were to provide each teacher a $5000 annual salary increase from its building fund, the total raise would amount to approx. $500,000 (double its entire building fund). The school would not even be able to provide a $500 pay increase to teachers from the building fund. So, Bice and Smalley are hoping this canard of a bill will convince teachers to not walk-out.
Another medium sized school with 2000 students, but having almost double the net assessed value, would receive $500,000 in building fund revenue, so could hypothetically provide building fund revenue for teacher pay raises. If School B could provide more $ for teacher pay raises than School A, the inequity in teacher salaries from one school to the next would prove disastrous. Maybe this scenario is what corporate lawmakers want - schools will turn on each other as some schools can pay teachers much more than others. Think about it...
Since SJR 70 went up in smoke - several more teacher pay raise canards (had to look it up in the dictionary) have been trolled by corporate lawmakers, just to see if any teachers would take the bait. But teachers know that any proposed $20,000, $10,000, $5,000, or even $2,500 annual pay raise must have a dedicated revenue source. This means that any teacher salary increase cannot depend on one-time money, or it's a "bonus"... and a canard increase (House Bill 3440). Several teacher pay increase bills such as SB 133 depended on revenue already turned down by the House earlier, so was torpedoed. The Speaker of The House, Charley (Dapper Dan) McCall, introduced a teacher pay raise bill with no number attached, and with no dedicated revenue, so also bit the dirt. So far, all corporate lawmakers have been able to come up with are false narratives for teacher pay increases. We'll continue to monitor the state budget fiasco - to find out if the many corporate lawmakers can solve this problem...
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Teacher Walk-Out.. Shutdown of Schools
First of all, the Blanchard Board of Education and administration supports and stands by its teachers in whatever action(s) they take in response to the lack of student funding coming from our Legislature... for the last 10 years. We are all on the same team. A Resolution of Support for our Blanchard teachers will be forthcoming, next Wednesday at 6 PM in the board room of the admin. building. We have received many questions from parents, students, citizens, and Blanchard Public Schools' supporters, as to what happens now. The OEA has announced a planned teacher walk-out on April 2, if lawmakers haven't drafted a workable plan for providing a teacher pay raise and additional operational funding for our public schools. Many people agree that teachers desperately need a pay increase, but disagree on the way to do that. Several local lawmakers have shot down all revenue options for paying for a teacher salary increase, saying things like: "I believe teachers need a pay raise, but a one-cent sales tax increase is not the way to do it." or "I believe teachers need a pay raise, but raising taxes for working Oklahomans is not the way." or "I believe teachers need a pay raise, but raising taxes for the wealthy and corporations is not the way.".. So, the question for our conservative, corporate, and liberal lawmakers, then becomes what is the appropriate way for teachers to receive a desperately needed pay increase? No corporate lawmaker has answered this question for his or her constituents yet! Corporatism is the party of "No", but with never a plan of their own. Conservatism is the party of "no tax increases", but with a better plan to provide teacher pay raises (see Tax Increment Financing reductions on this blog), which corporatists always shoot down.
It is important to realize at this point, that the OEA wanted teachers to wait a few more weeks before walking out, until May 1 or April 23 at the earliest. Oklahoma teachers overruled the OEA, however, and announced the walk-out would begin on April 2. The teacher, school support employee, and state employee pay increase plan will provide a $10,000 pay raise for teachers - $6000 the first year, $2000 the second year, and $2000 the third. Support employees could receive a $5,000 pay increase over the same 3 year period, and state employees in general could receive a pay increase if their respective agencies agreed. The main difference in the HB 1033xx teacher pay raise plan and this "teacher led" plan is that the corporate gross production tax increase will be 7% in the teacher plan, while HB 1033xx only required a 4% gross production tax. Of course, income tax rates for the wealthy and corporations would increase in the teachers' plan, while income tax rates for the working class would increase very little (if any at all).
The Oklahoma State School Boards Association has listed issues which our public schools should consider when teachers leave and a school must suspend operations:
1. School calendar: District policy may authorize the superintendent to adjust the school calendar to reflect a time period of suspended operations, although a school board may wish to take a formal vote.
2. Pay: Employee pay would be affected by a work stoppage.
* Staff would not be able to receive new compensation while operations are suspended.
* Because Oklahoma schools pay for services over a 12 month period, those employees would have accrued some compensation to which they are entitled.
* Once a school district falls below the contracted 180 days/1080 hours in the calendar, then pay would be deducted at one day's rate of pay per day of the work stoppage.
* Hourly support employees would not be able to be paid for time not worked.
* When the calendar is adjusted to make up lost days/hours, hourly support employees would be paid for work performed. Districts can choose to allow support employees to continue to work during a work stoppage.
3. Leave: If school operations are suspended, it is unnecessary for employees to take leave.
4. Employee benefits: Employee benefits can be affected for employees during the suspension of school operations in response to a work stoppage.
5. Extra duties: The school board can authorize continuance of extracurricular activities, allowing employees to continue to coach/direct activities, hold practice and attend contests.
6. Student issues: District leaders must consider a variety of student issues related to a work stoppage.
* Graduation standards - Local school boards determine whether students have met local and state graduation requirements.
* Extracurricular activities and sports - The school board can authorize continuance of extracurricular and sports.
* Child nutrition - School boards can authorize continued supervision and nutrition options for students.
7. Returning to school: There are two methods that would allow resumptions of school operations.
* If the superintendent authorized the suspension, the superintendent has the authority to resume operations.
* If the board voted to alter the calendar, the board should vote to resume school.
8. Time concerns: What happens to a district if it doesn't meet the 180 days/1080 hours requirement?
* Districts can seek relief from the state board of education but could be cited for accreditation deficiencies and/or be assessed a reduction in state aid.
**For answers to other questions you may have, please ask your local school superintendent.
It is important to realize at this point, that the OEA wanted teachers to wait a few more weeks before walking out, until May 1 or April 23 at the earliest. Oklahoma teachers overruled the OEA, however, and announced the walk-out would begin on April 2. The teacher, school support employee, and state employee pay increase plan will provide a $10,000 pay raise for teachers - $6000 the first year, $2000 the second year, and $2000 the third. Support employees could receive a $5,000 pay increase over the same 3 year period, and state employees in general could receive a pay increase if their respective agencies agreed. The main difference in the HB 1033xx teacher pay raise plan and this "teacher led" plan is that the corporate gross production tax increase will be 7% in the teacher plan, while HB 1033xx only required a 4% gross production tax. Of course, income tax rates for the wealthy and corporations would increase in the teachers' plan, while income tax rates for the working class would increase very little (if any at all).
The Oklahoma State School Boards Association has listed issues which our public schools should consider when teachers leave and a school must suspend operations:
1. School calendar: District policy may authorize the superintendent to adjust the school calendar to reflect a time period of suspended operations, although a school board may wish to take a formal vote.
2. Pay: Employee pay would be affected by a work stoppage.
* Staff would not be able to receive new compensation while operations are suspended.
* Because Oklahoma schools pay for services over a 12 month period, those employees would have accrued some compensation to which they are entitled.
* Once a school district falls below the contracted 180 days/1080 hours in the calendar, then pay would be deducted at one day's rate of pay per day of the work stoppage.
* Hourly support employees would not be able to be paid for time not worked.
* When the calendar is adjusted to make up lost days/hours, hourly support employees would be paid for work performed. Districts can choose to allow support employees to continue to work during a work stoppage.
3. Leave: If school operations are suspended, it is unnecessary for employees to take leave.
4. Employee benefits: Employee benefits can be affected for employees during the suspension of school operations in response to a work stoppage.
5. Extra duties: The school board can authorize continuance of extracurricular activities, allowing employees to continue to coach/direct activities, hold practice and attend contests.
6. Student issues: District leaders must consider a variety of student issues related to a work stoppage.
* Graduation standards - Local school boards determine whether students have met local and state graduation requirements.
* Extracurricular activities and sports - The school board can authorize continuance of extracurricular and sports.
* Child nutrition - School boards can authorize continued supervision and nutrition options for students.
7. Returning to school: There are two methods that would allow resumptions of school operations.
* If the superintendent authorized the suspension, the superintendent has the authority to resume operations.
* If the board voted to alter the calendar, the board should vote to resume school.
8. Time concerns: What happens to a district if it doesn't meet the 180 days/1080 hours requirement?
* Districts can seek relief from the state board of education but could be cited for accreditation deficiencies and/or be assessed a reduction in state aid.
**For answers to other questions you may have, please ask your local school superintendent.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Eliminate TIF for a teacher pay raise...
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for municipalities takes funding normally acquired by schools, technology centers, and county governments ($482,943,228 in 2016) for development. Currently, there are no safeguards in TIF laws to keep cities, towns, and county governments from establishing TIF districts in already economically productive areas or areas that would experience growth without the TIF. Other tax receiving jurisdictions (ie. public schools, tech centers, county governments, health departments, EMS districts) have no way to prevent these TIFs from being formed and no legal recourse if they are. Tax Increment Financing may seem like a purely local matter, but because local ad valorem revenue is a revenue stream that is charged against school districts by our state funding formula, any positive or negative change impacts all schools statewide.
Senate Bill 1279 by Jason Smalley (R) was an attempt to reign in TIF for municipalities, and would have provided approximately $300,000,000 for schools - without raising taxes, but failed in committee. Corporate lawmakers (liberal) are quickly narrowing the chances for a teacher pay raise - by snuffing out SB 1279 and other avenues for providing a teacher pay raise, without accompanying tax increases.
Senate Bill 1279 by Jason Smalley (R) was an attempt to reign in TIF for municipalities, and would have provided approximately $300,000,000 for schools - without raising taxes, but failed in committee. Corporate lawmakers (liberal) are quickly narrowing the chances for a teacher pay raise - by snuffing out SB 1279 and other avenues for providing a teacher pay raise, without accompanying tax increases.
Legislation: Good Bills and Bad bills - 2018
It's time to start reviewing public school legislation, both good and bad, since the 2018 regular session has just begun.
First off, the Lindsey Nicole Henry Voucher law provides taxpayer scholarships to students with special needs to any private school in the state which would accept the students. It has resulted in $millions in taxpayer dollars being funneled away from our local public schools and to several private schools statewide. It has also resulted in public school funding cuts for our public school students, and eventually could result in increased taxes for everyone.
House Bill 2782 by Representative Tim Downing, would expand the LNH voucher program to include vouchers for students who have an incarcerated parent. Such students would be eligible for the program even if they've never attended a public school in the past. Mr. Downing's bill clearly diverts from the original intent of the program to serve only students with learning disabilities. It continues the practice of adding groups of voucher-eligible students as a means to eventually make vouchers available to all students and will reduce the state aid available to public schools - (Since 2011, the LNH voucher program diverted nearly $14 million in public money to private schools. This attempt to erode public school funding harms the 700,000 students who attend public schools.
Downing's voucher bill was due to be heard in the House Rules Committee last week, but the committee chairman put the bill aside and it was "laid over" for later consideration. It's difficult to understand Mr. Downing's interest in privatizing our public schools, since he is an attorney by profession. Those lawmakers at the capitol usually focus on their area of expertise and author only bills which lie in their area. For instance, usually only those lawmakers whose past experience is in a given profession will author bills in that area. Teachers, other public school employees, and past school board members usually focus on education. Attorneys usually focus on state corrections bills and other bills which require a bit of "legal" knowledge. It becomes confusing to many when an ex-educator authors a bill which has nothing to do with our public schools... or when an attorney authors a bill which has everything to do with our public schools, but nothing in common with an area of true expertise. Only time will tell, when HB 2782 comes up again later in the session... maybe he will enlighten our local public schools.
First off, the Lindsey Nicole Henry Voucher law provides taxpayer scholarships to students with special needs to any private school in the state which would accept the students. It has resulted in $millions in taxpayer dollars being funneled away from our local public schools and to several private schools statewide. It has also resulted in public school funding cuts for our public school students, and eventually could result in increased taxes for everyone.
House Bill 2782 by Representative Tim Downing, would expand the LNH voucher program to include vouchers for students who have an incarcerated parent. Such students would be eligible for the program even if they've never attended a public school in the past. Mr. Downing's bill clearly diverts from the original intent of the program to serve only students with learning disabilities. It continues the practice of adding groups of voucher-eligible students as a means to eventually make vouchers available to all students and will reduce the state aid available to public schools - (Since 2011, the LNH voucher program diverted nearly $14 million in public money to private schools. This attempt to erode public school funding harms the 700,000 students who attend public schools.
Downing's voucher bill was due to be heard in the House Rules Committee last week, but the committee chairman put the bill aside and it was "laid over" for later consideration. It's difficult to understand Mr. Downing's interest in privatizing our public schools, since he is an attorney by profession. Those lawmakers at the capitol usually focus on their area of expertise and author only bills which lie in their area. For instance, usually only those lawmakers whose past experience is in a given profession will author bills in that area. Teachers, other public school employees, and past school board members usually focus on education. Attorneys usually focus on state corrections bills and other bills which require a bit of "legal" knowledge. It becomes confusing to many when an ex-educator authors a bill which has nothing to do with our public schools... or when an attorney authors a bill which has everything to do with our public schools, but nothing in common with an area of true expertise. Only time will tell, when HB 2782 comes up again later in the session... maybe he will enlighten our local public schools.
Private school scholarships and wealth tilt the playing field
Whether or not you believe the playing field is tilted toward private schools in the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association (OSSAA) when competing with public schools, the evidence and subsequent statistical analyses indicate that private schools have systemic and unfair advantages when competing with public schools. We've already provided data and analysis of sports such as football, basketball, and volleyball in the OSSAA, but Boys Tennis should also be scrutinized and analyzed to ascertain and illuminate any unfair advantages.
My good friend Phil Barnes, the Tennis coach in Duncan, suggested we take a look at the sport. These are the facts:
Rule 14 in the OSSAA Handbook advances private schools up one enrollment based class level when specific success conditions are met. Many private schools in the OSSAA have been playing in a class level above where there enrollment would indicate since 2012. The only caveat to Rule 14 is that no private school will be forced to play in class 6A for any sport, even if all success indicators are met. There are currently 32 class 5A Boys Tennis teams in the OSSAA - 25 public and 7 private. The 2017 Boys State Tennis Championships resulted in Heritage Hall as the class 5A State Champion and six of the top eight finishers being private. If all factors were equal regarding a level playing field, one would expect the percentage of public schools finishing in the top eight to roughly equal the percentage of public schools participating in 5A Tennis. The participation percentage for public schools is 78%, but placing in the top eight is only 25%. The participation percentage for private schools in 5A Tennis is 21.8%, while the "success" ratio is 75%. This one analysis indicates that private schools in the OSSAA enjoy systemic advantages which heavily "tilts the playing field" towards the privates.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) realized long ago that universities which offered scholarships to athletes and were relatively wealthy as far as athletic facilities, had advantages over colleges which offered no scholarships. The NCAA, subsequent to this realization, divided university athletics into classifications based on provided "student financial assistance". Division I schools may offer "scholarships" to students - Division III schools do not offer student financial assistance in the form of athletic scholarships. We believe this factor, which is controlled by private schools in the OSSAA, is the overriding measurable indicator of "the private school advantage", and must be controlled by the OSSAA.
My good friend Phil Barnes, the Tennis coach in Duncan, suggested we take a look at the sport. These are the facts:
Rule 14 in the OSSAA Handbook advances private schools up one enrollment based class level when specific success conditions are met. Many private schools in the OSSAA have been playing in a class level above where there enrollment would indicate since 2012. The only caveat to Rule 14 is that no private school will be forced to play in class 6A for any sport, even if all success indicators are met. There are currently 32 class 5A Boys Tennis teams in the OSSAA - 25 public and 7 private. The 2017 Boys State Tennis Championships resulted in Heritage Hall as the class 5A State Champion and six of the top eight finishers being private. If all factors were equal regarding a level playing field, one would expect the percentage of public schools finishing in the top eight to roughly equal the percentage of public schools participating in 5A Tennis. The participation percentage for public schools is 78%, but placing in the top eight is only 25%. The participation percentage for private schools in 5A Tennis is 21.8%, while the "success" ratio is 75%. This one analysis indicates that private schools in the OSSAA enjoy systemic advantages which heavily "tilts the playing field" towards the privates.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) realized long ago that universities which offered scholarships to athletes and were relatively wealthy as far as athletic facilities, had advantages over colleges which offered no scholarships. The NCAA, subsequent to this realization, divided university athletics into classifications based on provided "student financial assistance". Division I schools may offer "scholarships" to students - Division III schools do not offer student financial assistance in the form of athletic scholarships. We believe this factor, which is controlled by private schools in the OSSAA, is the overriding measurable indicator of "the private school advantage", and must be controlled by the OSSAA.
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