“Oklahoma is failing its students”

by Makalyn Kowalik
Journalism Intern

After a $23 million budget cut was already made for the 2016-2017 school year, the Oklahoma City Public School District announced that $10 million in additional cuts must be made as a part of the $30 million overall savings for the upcoming school year.

“Including today’s announcement, we have cut around $23 million from our budget for next year, and we must still cut $7 million more,” said Associate Superintendent Aurora Lora. “These are tough decisions because there are many items we are cutting that are important to our students’ education. Unfortunately, our budget situation is so dire we are forced to make these difficult choices,” she says.

According to the Oklahoma City Public School District, cost reductions will be achieved by:

•Revising school bell times for more efficient bus routes

•Delaying new textbook purchases

•Reducing school intercessions from five days to three days

•Eliminating funding for student testing (PSAT/SAT testing, AP and IB testing)

•Reducing elementary school supply budgets

•Shifting eligible expenses between funds

•Delaying athletic equipment & uniform purchases

•Reducing adjunct coaching positions

•Reducing contracts with outside vendors

•Suspending non-federally funded travel

Coinciding with the $7 million additional slash of the OKCPS budget, school officials are also considering additional options that include suspending school programs that could affect athletics/arts, as well as already detrimental staffing reductions.

“Obviously, this is a difficult time for school districts statewide,” Lora said. “The only remedy to the situation would be for the legislature to provide a permanent solution that ensures educational funding is sufficient for all students.” 

The students of the OKCPS district are not in the dark about what is happening to their education funding. Recently, a Junior from Classen School of Advanced Studies Sophie Trachtenberg, in an interview with News Channel 4, spoke on the issues of the already slashed budget. Trachtenberg says that her teachers have always been a huge support system to not only her but to everyone at Classen, and these budget cuts and layoffs are going to affect the students of Classen SAS directly.

Trachtenberg says, “The state of Oklahoma is failing its students, and it would be heartbreaking to see the damages the proposed cuts would cause to my school. So, OKCPS, it is up to you to help us through this crisis: to save my education, my outstanding school and the glue of it all, my phenomenal teachers.”

The Gayly – 5/11/2016 @ 3:52 p.m. CDT