SPARTANS AT THE CAPITOL: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
● Spartans at the Capitol Legislative Updates consist of strictly factual information, not to include information relative to support or opposition of legislation.The goal is to present the possible impact of legislation on public education, both positive and negative.
● COMING SOON: “At a Glance” summary of education-related legislation filed for this session!
● See here for the 2023 BPS + Bixby PLAC Legislative Goals!
Tips & Tools:
● Updated E-Mail Blocks
● Download the OK Legislature App! Apple Android
JOIN US AT THE CAPITOL
Scheduled CapitolVisits
○ 2/14: Committee Meetings & Luncheon
○ 2/20: Public SchoolsWeek
○ 3/7: Committee Meetings & Luncheon
○ 3/28: Committee Meetings & Luncheon
○ 4/10: OKPLAC Day at the Capitol
Detailed information and itinerary will be sent to those signed up prior to each visit.We will brief each group on our legislative goals before sitting in on Education Committee Meetings and having a round table lunch/discussion with area representatives and senators.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!
Questions?
Contact Jessica Jernegan at jjernegan@bixbyps.org.
State of the State Summary: Governor Stitt
The Governor presented his State of the State address on February 6 that began the 59th Legislative Session. You can access his speech here.
You can access the Governor's Budget Summary here and the full budget proposal here.
The executive budget lays out the following initiatives also mentioned in the State of the State address:
● $130 million Education Savings Accounts/Vouchers
● $50 million Performance-based pay raises for teachers
● $100 million Innovation School Fund to help start more schools like the Aviation Academy in Norman
● $100 million reading initiative fund, including funding for training teachers in the Science of Reading
● $500,000 for concurrent enrollment
● $87.7 million for the ad valorem reimbursement fund
The Governor also called for $655.7 million dollars in tax cuts:
● $351.1 million to eliminate state portion of sales tax on groceries
● $260.9 million to reduce the Individual IncomeTax Rate to 3.99%
● $43.7 million to reduce the Corporate IncomeTax Rate
Remember, the real budget process is with the Legislature; agencies (including the State Department of Education) send their board-approved requests to the Legislature, and the Governor submits his proposal, but the Legislature sets and passes the budget.
OKSDE Budget Summary: Supt.Walters
The budget approved by the state board is $60 million less than the budget adopted last September under former Supt. Hofmeister.
Important changes:
● A cut to universal teacher raises
● A new student reading proficiency program
● In Hofmeister’s budget, there was a plan to provide a $5,000 pay raise for all teachers.
● His plan provides a raise anywhere from $2,500-$10,000 to certain (approximately 25-30%) of current OK teachers
Other points of interest:
● A new line item was added for the student reading proficiency program at a cost of $100,000,000
● Flexible Benefit Allowance, which provides health insurance to 87,000 Oklahoma education employees, will stay flat because of carryover funding
● Textbook spending will increase because the cost of books has gone up
● Administration support will increase from $19 million to $20 million
● Support of Students andTeachers went from $117 million to $226 million because of the reading program
Bixby Public Schools has developed a 5-year Strategic Plan with the input of ALL stakeholders.
The mission: “Ignite the Potential of Every Student”
This plan cannot fully succeed without the ACTION of elected officials. If implemented, these legislative goals will ensure BPS is a place where ALL learners believe in their power to LEARN, EXCEL, and OWN their future!
