Greg Bledsoe (left) talks with George Tabor as he picks up his granddaughter outside Patrick Henry Elementary in Tulsa on Friday. Bledsoe and others urged parents to contact state representatives about funding for Oklahoma's schools. MATT BARNARD / Tulsa World
Oklahoma's Department of Education has the same problem as other state agencies, according to an analyst: The state budget is smaller than it used to be.
"What we're seeing is the overall pie is shrinking," said Gene Perry, a policy analyst at the Oklahoma Policy Institute. "So every agency is facing the cost of that, including education."
The Department of Education received $253.5 million less in state appropriations in fiscal year 2012 than in its most recent funding peak of fiscal year 2009, Oklahoma Office of State Finance data show. The 10 percent drop in department appropriations occurred while inflation rose nearly 3 percent in southern urban areas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Although total dollars have declined, the percentage of funds that the education department receives from the state budget has remained relatively constant over the past decade - ranging from 35 to 38 percent of total appropriations, data show.
Oklahoma general revenue collections peaked in fiscal year 2008, Perry said. The recession the following year caused revenue from personal income tax and sales tax - the state's two greatest funding sources - to decrease.
Revenues have still not returned to their prerecession peak. Revenues in fiscal year 2011 remained 16.5 percent below fiscal 2008, he said.
The full phasing in of personal income-tax cuts in January combined with Oklahoma's incomplete recovery from the recession means the state is facing the possibility it will not be able to recover to the fiscal year 2008 revenue level, Perry said. The personal income-tax rate dropped from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent on Jan. 1. That equaled approximately $125 million in losses for the state, he said.
New sales tax exceptions to certain items also chip away at revenue, Perry said.
"They (the state Legislature) do every year tend to add in more exceptions for individual things," he said. "They don't amount to much by themselves, but built up over time they add quite a hole to sales tax revenue."
School districts are feeling the impact, said Shawn Hime, Enid Public Schools superintendent and former assistant state superintendent for financial services.
Statewide, there's less money. Couple that with increasing costs and rising student populations, and school administrators face difficult budget decisions.
"Obviously we would like to see appropriations that match our increase in student population and inflation," Hime said. "At the very least we'd like to keep a steady pace with it."
Department of Education spokesman Damon Gardenhire said he thinks the Legislature tried to prevent major education cuts for a few budget cycles but that the approximately $500 million state revenue shortfall forced lawmakers to make difficult decisions.
The department has requested an additional $157 million in FY 2013, he said.
"That essentially was a request to make education whole," Gardenhire said.
Drop in state aid
| School | 2008-09 | 2011-12 | Per pupil drop1 | Total loss2 |
| Bartlesville | $2,032 | $1,742 | $290(-14%) | $2,704,700 |
| Bixby | $1,441 | $1,165 | $275(-19%) | $1,989,843 |
| Broken Arrow | $1,963 | $1,623 | $340(-17%) | $8,453,120.16 |
| Coweta | $2,453 | $2,074 | $379(-15%) | $1,808,424.11 |
| Jenks | $1,402 | $1,126 | $276(-20%) | $4,338,915.91 |
| Sand Springs | $2,277 | $1,967 | $310(-14%) | $2,466,583.23 |
| Sapulpa | $2,174 | $1,787 | $387(-18%) | $2,382,162.75 |
| Tulsa | $1,735 | $1,442 | $294(-17%) | $19,678,076.06 |
| Union | $1,850 | $1,612 | $237(-13%) | $5,514,538.53 |
| Berryhill | $2,377 | $2,006 | $371(-16%) | $636,785.41 |
| Owasso | $1,873 | $1,574 | $299(-16%) | $3,901,018.43 |
1State funding per pupil fell an estimated median of 16 percent (or $299 per student) since 2008-09, the last full year of state aid before statewide cuts.
2Total loss estimates additional amounts each district would have received in 2011-12 if state funding per student had been at 2008-09 levels.
The formula for state aid to Oklahoma public schools
The basic premise of
Oklahoma’s state aid
funding formula is that
differences in student
population, student
characteristics and district
characteristics need to be
taken into account when
determining the cost of
educating students.
That means the state
aid formula calculates the
cost based on weighted
pupil units, rather than a
flat rate for each child.
Through this formula,
schools receive additional
weights for students who
receive free or reducedrate
lunch, as well as
English Language Learners,
Gifted and Talented
Education students, and
those who fall into a dozen
or so categories of specialeducation
needs. Each
grade level also is given a
different weight.
Districts’ ad valorem
valuations, county 4-mill
revenue, motor vehicle
license revenue, school
land earnings and gross
production revenue are
deducted from their state
aid.
Casey Smith 918-732-8106
casey.smith@tulsaworld.com
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