Muskogee Phoenix
State
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Section A, Page 5
Oklahoma tries again for Race to the Top funding nor’s chief education adviser, said the redrafted application and the new state laws will make Oklahoma a serious contender in this round. Taylor said Oklahoma’s application received broad support across the state. Republicans and Democrats rallied in support of SB 2033, the state’s largest teachers unions are on
board with the application, and 82 percent of the state’s students are in school districts that agreed to participate. Still, not everyone was thrilled with Oklahoma’s decision to participate. Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, led opposition to the teacher evaluation bill that was defeated in the House on May 26 only to be
approved the next day without any revision. “It does fly in the face of conservative principles, which are limited government and local control,” Kern said. “We are turning more control over to the federal government because Race to the Top standards have to be followed to the word.” Kern said she was partic-
ularly opposed to the adoption of a set of national education standards known as Common Core that she maintains would lower Oklahoma’s academic standards. Her opposition to the application and the state’s new law echo opposition from governors of a number of states, including Texas and Virginia, that declined
to apply for the federal funding. Rep. Ann Coody, a former teacher, said regardless of whether the state is awarded funding, the reforms were essential for the future of education in Oklahoma. “These were our goals long before we thought about Race to the Top,” said Coody, R-Lawton. “These are goals for children.”
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Brad Henry on Tuesday signed the state’s second Race to the Top application, which described Oklahoma’s education reforms and the requested $175 million in funding as “a watershed for the Sooner State.” Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia applied for the second round of federal stimulus funds, pledging a number of education reforms in an attempt to persuade a panel of five reviewers that their reforms are the “boldest” and deserving of a share of $3.4 billion in federal stimulus funds. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he expects 10 to 15 states will receive funding. Tennessee and Delaware were awarded a combined $600 million in the first round, and 11 states decided not to reapply for the grant. Oklahoma’s application begins by calling Senate Bill 2033 — approved in the final days of the legislative session — “the boldest, most comprehensive legislation in the nation” this year. The new law created a mandatory annual teacher and principal evaluation system that uses student test scores and qualitative assessments to dismiss “ineffective” teachers after two years and reward highly effective teachers with bonuses. Finalists will be announced in August with winners being notified in September. Kathy Taylor, the gover-
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Auction to raise reward money in girls’ deaths HENRYETTA — A Henryetta bar plans to hold an auction to raise money to increase the reward fund for information that leads to a conviction in the mysterious killing of two Weleetka-area girls two years ago. The auction at Marvin’s Place will be held Sunday afternoon. It’s the third time the bar has held an auction to raise money to boost the reward funds in the case. Authorities say 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker were shot to death on June 8, 2008, on a county road in rural Okfuskee County. No arrests have been made and authorities never have identified a suspect, even as they have pleaded for information about the deaths of the girls. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown says the current reward in the case is $160,000.
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Oklahoma prison inmate found dead McALESTER — Officials say an inmate at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester has been found dead. Warden’s Assistant Terry Crenshaw says the identity of the 26-year-old inmate is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Officials say his death may be the result of a suicide. Crenshaw says the inmate was serving a life sentence out of Oklahoma County for murder. He was found unresponsive at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday.
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State lawmakers OK execution drugs bill OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Legislature has sent a measure that would strike the language specifying what kind of drugs must be used to carry out executions to Gov. Brad Henry. By state law, the Department of Corrections must use “an ultra-short acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent” to put inmates to death. Attorney General spokesman Charlie Price says the new language in House Bill 2266 would give the agency more flexibility to alter the execution protocol if medical procedures change or a court determines a problem exists.
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