State Question 744 is Wrong Solution
With the pivotal November 2 elections fast approaching, partisan conflicts are on display in political ads, debates and news reports across the country. However, there is remarkable consensus in Oklahoma among lawmakers and candidates from both parties regarding State Question 744.
SQ 744 epitomizes the "throw money at the problem" mentality. This misguided initiative would amend the state constitution to require that Oklahoma's K-12 education spending equal the per-student average of our six neighboring states. It would put in place no reforms and no new oversight or accountability. Under SQ 744, the answer to Oklahoma's education challenges begins and ends with increased spending.
Political history is replete with examples of the futility of this approach. President Obama's failed stimulus package is just one of the most recent. Supporters of this $787 billion monstrosity promised that the bill would create jobs and keep the unemployment rate below 8 percent. We're now entering our 17th straight month of 9 percent or higher unemployment. A new Joint Economic Committee report reveals that the nation's 20 largest metropolitan areas have lost 557,000 private sector jobs since the stimulus became law, while the federal workforce has grown by 42,700 jobs in those areas. This fact demonstrates that increased spending is reliably effective in achieving only one outcome: the growth of government. When it comes to producing concrete results like new jobs or improved educational achievement, the tax-and-spend philosophy has long since been proven a failure.
While SQ 744 would likely have little positive impact on learning, it would certainly have a disastrous effect on the state budget. Besides being devoid of reform, the measure is also lacking in any funding mechanism. Absent a new revenue stream, deep cuts to other vital government services would be required to fund the new education spending, which the Oklahoma Policy Institute projects would be nearly $1.7 billion over the first three years. With a total state budget of $6.7 billion in fiscal year 2011, $1.7 billion would represent an enormous portion of state spending. Diverting a sum of this size to K-12 education cannot be accomplished without major disruptions to other state functions like corrections, transportation and higher education.
The state budget is already strained, and it is only by virtue of responsible management and tough choices by the state government that Oklahoma has fared so well in the recession. SQ 744 would place an unacceptable burden on state finances that would significantly compromise Oklahoma's capacity to recover from continuing economic challenges. President Obama's policies are damaging enough to state budgets without adding to the burden with new mandatory state spending.
No one disputes the importance of education to Oklahoma's future. However, SQ 744 is simply the wrong approach.
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