Winter 2015-2016 Journal

Volume XIII • No. 4 • Winter 2015-2016

A Publication of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association

Volume XIII • No. 4 • Winter 2015-2016

Education Investment: A Winning Strategy.................................4

Campaign and Election Issues......................................................14

Presidential Ponderings...................................................................6

Employment Law Professional Development.............................16

Remembering Michael Barlow.......................................................7

OSSBA Partners..............................................................................17

Self-Inflicted Wounds......................................................................8

It's Policy: Student Attendance Policies.......................................19

Dear Legislators, My Schools Are Succeeding............................10

Back to the Future..........................................................................20

Let the People Vote: Sales Tax Proposal Would Benefit Public Schools....................................................................12

Study Finds Teacher Pay Changes Could Improve Teacher Turnover...........................................................................22

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Officers and 2015-2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Mullins - President Sand Springs

Roger Edenborough - President-Elect Goodwell Don Tice - First Vice President Oologah-Talala

Roy Justice - Second Vice President Mannsville

Dr. Floyd Simon, Jr. - Immediate Past President, Clinton John D. Tuttle - NSBA President Kellyville

The Oklahoma State School Boards Association offers services that support, safeguard and advocate for Boards of Education in order to improve public education.

OKLAHOMA SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL Shawn Hime Executive Director and Editor Christy Watson Director of Communications and Marketing and Editor Kelly Ross Marketing Coordinator and Design Editor Official publication of Oklahoma State School Boards Association, Inc. 2801 N. Lincoln Boulevard, Ste. 125 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105 (405) 528-3571 • (888)528-3571 toll-free (405) 528-5695 fax www.ossba.org ISSN 0748-8092

The Oklahoma State School Boards Association, publisher of The Oklahoma School Board Journal, reserves the right to accept or reject any material, editorial or advertisement submitted to the Journal for publication.

Advertisements appearing in the Journal do not necessarily reflect an endorsement by the OSSBA of the advertised materials or services.

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Region 1 Mike Ray, Guymon Roger Edenborough, Goodwell Region 2 Terry Graham, Burlington Wesley Crain, Fargo Region 3 Willa Jo Fowler, Enid Cheryl Lane, Frontier

Region 4 Mike Mullins, Sand Springs Ruth Ann Fate, Tulsa Cheryl Kelly, Broken Arrow Region 5 Don Tice, Oologah-Talala Rodney Schilt, Adair

Region 6 Dr. Dan Snell, Norman Frances Percival, Millwood Ron Millican, Oklahoma City Region 7 John D. Tuttle, Kellyville Keith Sandlin, Shawnee

Region 8 Brenda Barney, Wagoner W. Scott Abbott, Fort Gibson Region 9 Dr. Floyd Simon, Jr., Clinton James Smith, Leedey Region 10 Beth Schieber, Okarche Jackie McComas, Anadarko Region 11 Donna Ronio, Lawton Karol Haney, Cache

Region 12 Ed Tillery, Whitebead Joe Don Looney, Pauls Valley Region 13 Roy Justice, Mannsville Tony Hawkins, Madill Region 14 Brent Bolen, Idabel Darrell Ward, Denison

Region 15 Glen Cosper, Moore Norman Tech. Center Dustin Tackett, Caddo-Kiowa Tech. Center

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Shawn Hime, OSSBA Executive Director

Oklahomans desperately want to win. We want to win companies so they’ll bring good jobs that benefit our families and communities. We want to win at tourism and showcase all our state has to offer. We want our cities to win so they can be amazing places to live, work and play.

recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

We win those competitions with investment. We offer money and other incentives. We ask our communities to invest in themselves so our future wins as a state will be bigger and better than those in the past. We want to win BIG and leave a BIG legacy for those who come after us!

Schools aren’t asking for a blank check with no accountability. Districts have never faced more reporting requirements to the state and federal government. Schools have never been more sophisticated in using data to improve student achievement.

Ever wonder why the investment strategy that generates so much enthusiasm when it comes to economic development is shunned when public schools are the investment vehicle?

Oklahoma schools receive about one-third of state appropriations, but percentages don’t tell the whole story.

Every state in our region spends more per student, according to the most 4

To match the per-student investment in Texas, Oklahoma would have to spend an additional $900 million annually.

The comparisons are even worse for New Mexico, Arkansas and Kansas. To match Kansas’ investment on a perstudent basis, Oklahoma would have to commit an additional $2 billion a year.

If other states can invest more in their children, why can’t Oklahoma?

The well-documented teacher shortage isn’t the only evidence of underinvestment. What opportunities are students missing out on?

Imagine the possibilities if Oklahoma’s per-student investment was closer to that of other states. With additional resources, schools could offer competitive wages to attract and keep the best teachers, keep class sizes at an ideal level, invest more in teacher

training, provide more and better learning experiences for students both inside and outside the classroom, restore fine arts opportunities and increase instructional time. Each of those “expenses” would represent an investment in what research says works to improve student achievement and provide a better educational experience for students.

“We did the best we could” is not the educational experience I want for my children. I don’t believe a dollarstore educational experience is what policymakers want for Oklahoma’s children, either. We can’t rewrite history so it’s time to focus on the future.

My recent conversations with state leaders indicate a willingness to embrace collaborative solutions to address the serious challenges facing schools. Even in the midst of a budget crisis, parents and school, community and policy leaders have an opportunity to work together on ways to best meet the needs of today’s students and begin building a solid foundation for the future. The investment gap is too large to ignore, and investing in the schools that serve the vast majority of Oklahoma’s students is our state’s best economic development strategy. 

State

Total Spending

Enrollment

Per Pupil

Deficit

Kansas

$5,759,773,414

483,114

$11,849

$2,143,574,160

Arkansas

$5,393,329,896

483,114

$11,164

$1,687,281,960

Missouri

$10,173,456,177

916,584

$11,099

$1,643,984,160

New Mexico

$3,559,705,404

337,225

$10,556

$1,282,281,000

Colorado

$8,548,412,670

854,265

$10,007

$916,581,120

Texas

$49,991,335,813

5,000,470

$9,997

$909,919,920

Oklahoma

$5,748,976,006

666,120

$8,631

Region

$89,174,990,380

8,743,886

$10,199 (avg)

$1,044,178,830 (avg)

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2015 *The investment deficit is how much Oklahoma would have to invest to reach the per-pupil investment of other states.

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Presidential Ponderings

Mike Mullins, OSSBA President and Sand Springs Board Member

When the Oklahoma State School Boards Association and the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration launched For the People: A Vision for Oklahoma Public Education more than three years ago, we really didn’t know where the project would lead. What we knew for sure is that a reactive approach wasn’t producing much-needed support for our schools, teachers and students.

Top-down “reforms” were coming fast and furious. Despite good intentions, many of the ideas weren’t rooted in what we know about the art and science of teaching. Other ideas were poorly implemented and thrust upon schools without funding needed to be successful.

At its core, For the People was designed to lead public education advocates out of the land of negativity. With a focus in seven key areas, For the People offers myriad recommendations aimed at producing students who are fully prepared for life beyond high school. We knew then, as we do now, that resources are key.

Schools will struggle to reach great heights for all children as long as policymakers low-ball the funding needed to achieve great results.

When I was asked to join the committee supporting “Oklahoma’s Children – Our Future,” a penny sales tax proposal for public education, I didn’t hesitate to say YES! For the People is about solutions, and a long-term funding plan for education is one of the key recommendations. A funding plan is also one of OSSBA’s top legislative goals.

Mike Mullins was elected as President of OSSBA at the Delegate Assembly, Aug. 29, 2015. He is a board member from Sand Springs Public Schools and serves as the Region 4 Director for OSSBA.

I’m sure you’ve heard by now criticism of the proposal. No plan is perfect. OSSBA’s board of directors voted to endorse the proposal, but only after lively discussion. Still, the decision was unanimous. Like many board members across the state, I have a sense of urgency about our state’s public education system.

We have so many success stories within the public education ranks. Our students are achieving great things despite limited resources within their schools. However, it’s unrealistic to keep asking our teachers to do more with less.

That funding is not keeping pace with growing enrollment is fact. That Oklahoma is losing the competition for teachers to other states and professions is fact.

The proposed sales tax is expected to generate $615 million annually. More than $427 million of that would be dedicated for school districts, with the bulk funding a significant and long overdue teacher pay raise.

In For the People, we asked school board members, administrators and other public education advocates to say yes to a new vision for public education that’s based on solutions.

The sales tax proposal fits that criteria. Even better, the proposal could help fund many of the initiative’s recommendations, particularly related to teacher recruitment and retention. We know ensuring a high-quality teacher for every child is absolutely critical.

I’m saying yes. Will you? 

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Michael was born in New York City, Nov. 2, 1944, the only child of Blanche and Lothar Barlow. He came to Oklahoma to attend OU, met the love of his life and never left.

Michael loved his family above all else. He treasured the 52 years of marriage with his beloved wife Anita. As newlyweds they looked at the night sky and he would say "The stars are out tonight; that means I love you." The stars will shine for eternity. He and his sons were very close, both as business partners and as friends. Michael (Papa) also had a very special relationship with each of his four granddaughters, Baylea, Sadie, Rachil and Lily. He also loved his daughters-in-law Laura and Stacie as though they were daughters.

Michael was passionate about a great many things. He always loved teaching, from his beginnings at U.S. Grant High School to performing workshops and seminars for school administrators. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame in 2010. If you were to encounter Michael in any arena you would find him to be a strong advocate and supporter of the causes and activities he held dear. Many knew him as a passionate supporter of the State of Israel, a voice for the OKC Jewish Community, a negotiator and education consultant, a teacher union leader, an improv comic, a snow camper and cross country skier, and the guy with the Moses beard. Michael and Anita loved travelling together around the globe, many times to Israel, but also to Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Hawaii and often New York City, where he grew up.

Michael was a dear friend of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, and many of our members benefited from the keen insight in his regular columns in the Oklahoma School Board Journal. The last column Michael wrote for OSSBA appears on the next pages and focuses on the dire straits facing many Oklahoma schools and families — a fitting closing statement from a man who spent his life deeply committed to schools and those they serve. ď Ž 7

So many of the fiscal problems we face have been caused by, or at least influenced by, legislative action or inaction. Oklahoma ended the last legislative session with a $619 million budget hole , and predictions for the coming fiscal year are dire. One case in point is the ½-percent income tax deduction triggered this January — a selfinflicted wound of more than $100 million.

Much of the data and analysis presented in this issue’s column comes from the Oklahoma Policy Institute, with permission. This think tank, led by executive director David Blatt, is probably the number one source of pure, untainted data.

The budget uses hundreds of millions in one-time revenues, and lawmakers allowed a cut to the top income tax rate that will reduce revenues by $57 million in FY 2016 and $147 million in FY 2017.

A family of two adults and two children in the Oklahoma City area needs to earn $55,496 annually to cover all costs of a basic family budget. That translates to a $13.34 hourly wage if both adults work full time. A single adult raising two children would need a full-time hourly wage of $23.40.

It’s obvious many working Oklahomans have no hope of being paid that much.

There aren’t enough good-paying jobs.

Oklahoma has the fourth-highest share of low-paying jobs in the U.S. One in three Oklahoma jobs is in an occupation where median annual pay is below the federal poverty line. For thousands of Oklahomans who work hard to prepare meals, build homes, care for parents and grandparents, and teach our children, a selfsufficient income remains unattainable.

There are common-sense ways to bridge the income gap, but in Oklahoma these encounter high obstacles.

The best way for families to earn more is for employers to pay higher wages. States and cities around the country are seeing effective wage campaigns, but Oklahoma’s hourly minimum wage is stuck at $7.25; the Legislature has pre-

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Michael Barlow, Barlow Education Management Services empted cities from setting it higher.

Meanwhile, so-called right-to-work legislation hinders the efforts of workers to organize themselves to bargain for better pay and benefits. And we’re slashing investments in colleges, universities, and vocational training that can provide the education and skills needed for better-paying jobs.

It’s no surprise then that so many working families must depend on public benefits and private charity to make ends meet. Yet, often the same public officials who block efforts to raise wages also make it harder for people to get food stamps, Medicaid, low-income tax credits and other supports that can play a crucial role in helping working families make ends meet.

Our state tax system is no longer generating the revenue needed to pay for basic public services. There are numerous indicators of a chronic and deepening budget gap, also known as a structural budget deficit: •

This year’s budget is $680 million, or 8.6 percent, below FY 2009, adjusted for inflation.

•

Total state tax collections now make up 5.6 percent of state personal income, well below the average of 6.9 percent of the quarter-century between 1982 and 2007.

•

•

Most of the state’s regulatory, judicial, economic development, and cultural agencies have been cut 20 percent or more since 2009, even before adjusting for inflation.

The state workforce remained almost 3,000 employees smaller

in 2014 than in 2009. Compared to 2001, the state workforce has shrunk by 1,158 employees, even as Oklahoma’s population has grown by some 350,000 residents.

•

Our state prisons are staffed at less than 65 percent even while they are over 100 percent inmate capacity.

•

Our teachers have gone seven years without a statewide pay raise and school districts across the state are facing a severe teacher shortage, which has led to larger class sizes, unfilled teacher vacancies, and emergency teacher certifications.

•

Last year, the state Medicaid agency cut reimbursement rates for most providers by nearly eight percent, restricted benefits, and hiked copayments. This year, the agency could be forced to slash provider reimbursements even more deeply.

The state’s structural budget deficit has multiple causes. Some have to do with economic and demographics over which state policymakers have little control, but others have been caused or aggravated by policy choice made by state leaders in recent years. The causes of chronic budget shortfalls include: Off-the-top allocations. In recent years, legislators have earmarked a growing share of tax revenues to various priorities, leaving less money for other government functions.

Rising healthcare costs. Health care costs have long been the fastest rising share of the economy, which places pressure on the state budget through the Medicaid program and other health care

agencies, as well as on state employee health benefits.

Economic changes. The sales tax is the largest revenue source for state and local government combined in Oklahoma.

Over time, our economic consumption is increasingly shifting from the purchase of goods in stores, which are taxed, to purchases of services, which are largely untaxed, and to online commerce, where state authority to collect taxes is constrained.

Proliferating tax breaks. Tax credits, deductions, and exemptions grow in number and magnitude each year as a result of legislative action and inaction.

Tax cuts. Since the mid-2000s, the Legislature has cut the top income tax rate from 6.65 percent to 5.25 percent, along with raising the standard deduction, exempting most or all retirement income, military income, and Oklahoma-held capital gains from taxation, and abolishing the estate tax.

This is not an exhaustive list – growing pension obligations, costs associated with high rates of incarceration, strategies deployed by businesses to avoid state income taxes, and other factors are also contributing to the chronic budget crunch.

While there are specific measures and strategies the state can and should adopt to address each of these components of the structural budget deficit, the broader message is that we need a longterm strategy for getting our revenues back in alignment with what it costs to provide core services for Oklahomans.

Unfortunately, our current lawmakers have done the opposite. 

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For more than three years, I’ve worked at the Oklahoma State School Boards Association as one of your lawyers and as a lobbyist representing the best interests of board members — and by extension Oklahoma’s students — at the state Capitol. I love what I do, but like any job, it’s not without frustrations.

Public education has many friends at the state Capitol. Unfortunately, their voices are often drowned out with

performance. It felt like we should be sitting on red velvet seats in a theater on Broadway — that’s how good they were!

Next, we learned about Project Search at NPS. This is a program that is designed to give high school students with special needs the skills they need to succeed on their own and in the workforce after graduation. We met several of the participants at Embassy Suites by Hilton in Norman. Three

French. One class in each elementary grade is taught in French for half of the school day. We witnessed third graders having an entire lesson in French. They spoke to each other in conversational French, their teachers spoke only French to them, and they understood and responded.

As if I wasn’t already impressed and feeling a bit like a massive underachiever at this point, we then visited

Rooney Virgin, OSSBA Director of Legislative Services and Staff Attorney

talk of “failing public schools” and the promise that competition would breed more success. I know this overarching theme painting public schools as a failure isn’t true. Schools are doing the best they can — and succeeding!

I am fortunate to be part of the 2016 Leadership Norman Class. The Norman Chamber of Commerce sponsors the program to educate and develop leaders in Norman about Norman. We meet 14 times throughout the year to learn about our community. We recently spent a full day on education, and I’d like to share what I learned.

We began the day at Norman Public Schools (NPS), where staff and Superintendent Joe Siano greeted us.

We then watched high school students from the fine arts program perform for us. First up was a young lady, a junior in high school, who performed a 15-minute monologue in front of 30 civic leaders. She didn’t show the slightest bit of anxiety and had a perfect delivery. The monologue was about human interaction and what social media has done to destroy it.

She was hilarious, engaging and had our undivided attention; overall, a wonderful performance. Next up, we were given a sneak peek of the hit musical Pippin by Norman North High School students. Again, we were all blown away by their awesome 10

students we met had been working at Embassy Suites for 10 weeks at this point in varying jobs. They each stepped up to a podium and spoke to us about how the program was helping them, what they were learning, how they loved the Embassy Suites and the work they were doing. These students were amazing! Ten weeks ago, the students would not have been able to stand up to a microphone and address more than two dozen strangers, let alone a room full of community leaders, the program director told us. Yet here they were!

We then hopped back on our bus to visit Alcott Middle School. We visited with Mr. Twomey who teaches science, as well as Project Lead the Way’s Gateway curriculum, which is taught in all four of the district’s middle schools. The program uses the latest technology to provide hands-on learning experiences in engineering, biomedical and computer science that builds critical, collaborative thinking.

I have a law degree, which took a lot of hard work, but in that moment, it paled in comparison. These middle school students were already building elevators!

We then went to Reagan Elementary School and learned about their French Immersion program. Yes, these elementary students are learning in

the Moore Norman Technology Center (MNTC).

We visited three different classes. The first was biotechnology taught by Pam Airington to high school students. They had state-of-the-art equipment, were working with teensy tiny organisms and were wearing lab coats. I remember little about the periodic table, but these students were speaking like PhD candidates.

We then moved on to pre-engineering taught by Brandon Dickerson. This was the first of many engineering courses at MNTC. This was the basic course, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I failed my first day! He was trying to teach us to build a bracelet on the computer and emboss our names on it. When he said “move the mouse along the Y axis and extend the line to 1.25,” I started to panic. How do these students do this?

Luckily, Mr. Dickerson picked up on my anxiety almost immediately and helped me figure out that this meant I needed to go left of the middle until that magic number of ‘1.25’ appeared on the screen.

Finally, we moved on to air conditioning and refrigeration taught

by Steve Yadon. These students were learning to fix a commercial grade freezer that is bigger than my office.

The students and teachers were so

impressive. The MNTC students loved their classes and were excited to be there. More importantly, they wanted to be there. The teachers were enthusiastic about their jobs and how they loved coming to work every day teaching to students who wanted to learn.

that Mr. Twomey is still there teaching engineering, the fine arts program is available to her and she can learn to speak French like a native Parisian. I hope if she wants to learn new trades and take courses, I hope MNTC will till offer those when she’s old enough.

By the end of the day, my class of 30 well-educated, civic-minded leaders felt a little overwhelmed and a lot impressed by what NPS and MNTC accomplish daily.

Of more than 500 school districts in the state, I am sure each and every one of them has a unique program, their own great teachers — and we need to hear about it!

We at OSSBA need you to be an advocate for your school district outside of your board meeting. I know you have

So why did I just brag on the schools in my district to all of you? I want you to do the same thing, but to your legislators. Here’s why: By nature, I am a worrier. I worry that NPS has over $5 million less than they did in 2008, and they have a growing district. Through outstanding leadership, dedicated teachers and major community involvement, NPS has been able to keep awesome fine arts programs, help special needs kids get jobs, have teachers who can build elevators and speak French. But how long can they continue to provide these wonderful opportunities to the students? Norman is still growing and will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, but funding is declining. My husband and I live in Norman, and we have a daughter, Annabelle, who is a year and a half old, who will attend NPS. I hope

in your home district. Have a board meeting and invite them to attend — put it on the agenda. You can have a board meeting anywhere, just follow the Open Meeting Act rules. If you aren’t comfortable going on your own, have the board meeting over pancakes and coffee at your local diner. Get to know them, build a relationship with them and become the person they call whenever they have questions.

My daughter deserves the best education. So do your children and the children you represent as a school board member. I know you do a lot already and are stretched thin. We are constantly asking our administrators, teachers and students to do more and more with less.

a lot of other things going on – jobs, family obligations, school board duties and likely other volunteer activities, and you have lobbyists at OSSBA to advocate for you. However, part of my job is to provide you with accurate information so that you, too, can be an advocate for your school.

I’m not asking a lot. Read our legislative alerts. Read the weekly updates during session. E-mail and call your legislator.

If you don’t know them, go meet them

I’m not asking for a huge chunk of your time compared to what our educators put forth every day for our kids. But this is a critical time for education. College students aren’t pursuing teaching as a career. Teachers are leaving our state, and in some cases, the profession altogether.

Funding is low and is unlikely to improve with the looming state budget shortfall. Education needs help. Let your legislator know what great things your school is doing and that the school needs their support to keep doing the best for all our kids.

Our schools are not failing. Share your school’s story and begin the process of building relationships with lawmakers to help improve public education and the perception of public education in Oklahoma.  11

Christy Watson, OSSBA Director of Communications and Marketing

"Let the people vote."

Learn More ossba.org/salestax-plan

Donate okchildrenourfuture. org/donate

With that emphatic declaration at a state Capitol news conference, University of Oklahoma President David Boren announced “Oklahoma’s Children, Our Future,” a ballot initiative for a statewide penny sales tax to benefit public education.

The proposal would ask voters to amend the Oklahoma Constitution and establish the sales tax as a dedicated revenue stream for public education at all levels. The primary focus is to increase teacher salaries to a regionally competitive level to address Oklahoma’s severe teacher shortage.

“We face a crisis of historic proportions,” Boren said in reference to the teacher shortage. “We are even losing teachers to Arkansas.”

Boren and the 130-member supporting committee hope the measure will be on the November 2016 statewide ballot. Organizers must first gather about 123,000 signatures on an initiative petition.

OCPA Impact, the lobbying arm of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, filed a protest to the proposed ballot language with the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The court rejected the protest. Once signature gathering begins, orgaizers have 90 days to obtain the necessary signatures.

The proposed tax would raise an estimated $615 million a year for public education.

Ballot language calls for most of the proceeds — 69.5 percent — to flow to school districts. Roughly $369 million would be earmarked for $5,000 teacher raises and other teacher recruitment and retention strategies. School districts could use an additional $58.4 million toward efforts to improve student achievement.

The remaining proceeds — $187.6 million — would be split among other public education sectors. Higher education would receive about $118.4 million a year, chiefly

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to improve college affordability. The state Education Department would receive about $49.2 million annually to improve access and quality of early childhood programs targeting lowincome and at-risk children. The state’s career technology system would receive about $20 million annually for the “improvement of career and technology education,” according to the proposed ballot language.

OSSBA President Mike Mullins noted a long-term funding plan for schools anchors the association’s legislative goals and also is a key recommendation in For the People: A Vision for Oklahoma Public Education.

“While our school districts aren’t allowed to advocate for passage of a ballot measure, I am lending my personal support to this plan and hope

The proposal prohibits school districts from spending money on superintendent salaries and also prohibits lawmakers from using money from the sales tax to replace other education funding.

Despite the protest, the proposal has widespread bipartisan support. The supporting committee, which includes OSSBA President Mike Mullins, includes myriad educators, community leaders, executives and nonprofit leaders.

education,” he said. “We must act. We cannot wait.”

Oklahoma has one of the nation’s lowest per-student spending rates. As enrollment in the state’s public schools has grown, funding has not kept pace.

An OSSBA survey conducted in August showed schools were trying to fill about 1,000 teaching vacancies — even after cutting 600 teaching positions and eliminating hundreds of course offerings from the previous school year. The state Education Department has issued a record number of emergency teaching certificates — 977 from July through December — to help schools fill open positions.

Shawn Sheehan, a Norman teacher and Oklahoma’s reigning teacher of the year, said Oklahoma can’t afford to wait.

Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

Dave Lopez, a retired AT&T officer, former secretary of commerce and former interim superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools, is lending his support. “The greatest thing we can do to enhance economic development and individual advancement is to provide a quality education.”

At its quarterly meeting in October, the OSSBA Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse the proposal.

In announcing the endorsement to school board members statewide,

you will consider doing the same,” Mullins wrote to board members.

“We all benefit from a strong public education system.”

Boren said with the state facing a growing projected budget shortfall, Oklahomans need the opportunity to share in a solution to make sure Oklahoma’s students have the teachers they need.

“Our children and the entire economic future of Oklahoma are at risk. It is inevitable that Oklahoma’s economy will decline if we don’t invest more in

“It breaks my heart to see so many of my fellow teachers leaving Oklahoma to teach in neighboring states or making the decision to leave the classroom,” he said.

The coalition supporting the ballot proposal extends to Oklahoma’s Native American communities. Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby appeared at Boren’s news conference in support of the effort. “The fact that so many Oklahomans are willing to step up and solve the problems facing schools, communities and children shows the value we all place on education,” he said.

“This is a dire situation, and I believe Oklahomans will agree that now is the time to act.” 

Important information

No matter how enthusiastic you are about the issue of a possible sales tax to benefit education, it is important to remember that Oklahoma law absolutely prohibits the use of school district resources to in any manner attempt to influence an election or a referendum.

Get information on what teachers, board members, district employees, and school districts can and cannot do with regards to campaigning on page 14.

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Stephanie Mather, OSSBA Director of Legal Information and Staff Attorney

No matter how enthusiastic you are about the issue of a possible sales tax to benefit education, it is important to remember that Oklahoma law absolutely prohibits the use of school district resources to in any manner attempt to influence an election or a referendum. 26 O.S. § 6-119 provides as follows: Any official in this state who shall direct or authorize the expenditure of any public funds under his care, except as specifically authorized by law, to be used either in support of, or in opposition to, any measure which is being referred to a vote of the people by means of the initiative or referetndum, or which citizens of this state are attempting to have referred to a vote of the people by the initiative or referendum, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and the office held by such party shall be adjudged vacant and shall be filled in the manner prescribed by law.

This law applies to school board members and administrators. Here are key points to keep in mind: •

• • •

School resources can’t be used for election-related purposes.

• School copiers can’t be used to copy election-related material, even if an individual furnishes the paper and wants to reimburse the school.

• School telephones and e-mail cannot be used in order to support or oppose any petition or question on the ballot.

• School employees and board of education members should avoid using school district-issued computers, tablets or phones for campaign purposes or in support of the petition drive.

Supporters cannot be allowed to come into the school buildings during the school day or during school activities to campaign or to solicit signatures.

School district employees cannot campaign for or against a proposed ballot measure during time they are on the clock.

Information cannot be sent home with students supporting or opposing a ballot measure or petition drive.

So what can school board members and school district employees do? Although you may not use school resources for political purposes, you are free to campaign for or against a candidate or proposition on your own time and with your own resources. You each have this absolute right as a citizen. 

Board members and district employees may:

Teachers and school districts may:

• •

•

• • •

• 14

Write letters to the editor.

Campaign door-to-door.

Place signs in the yard of your home (as long as it is not on school property or within 300 feet of a ballot box).

Use your personal e-mail from home.

Write letters from home using your own paper and postage.

Donate personal resources to a campaign.

• • • •

Teach about the referendum and election process.

Have mock elections.

Allow students to discuss the issues.

Allow forums or debates to occur on school district property after school hours ad facilitate such forums.

Spend money to encourage people to vote and remind them of voting days.

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Jessica Sherrill, Director of OPSUCA and OSSBA Staff Attorney

Former support employees initiated more than half of unemployment claims OPSUCA has handled on behalf of school districts in the past year. To better assist districts in this area, OPSUCA will offer specialized training in March and April for managers of school support employees.

Support employees vary by department from cafeteria or child nutrition employees to bus drivers to teacher assistants. Often, their direct supervisor is within their department and therefore is not normally an administrator or principal. Mostly, a cafeteria manager, transportation director, head custodian, etc., manages support employees. Therefore, the immediate supervisor handles employment concerns. If there’s little improvement or a big event occurs, only then may the issue get the attention of the building principal. Often, that is not the case.

In reviewing these support employee claims, our conclusion is that many direct supervisors could benefit from professional development geared toward: •

•

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Fair Labor Standards Act considerations, such as timekeeping and how it relates to overtime and compensatory time and how to avoid wage complaints.

Family and Medical Leave Act issues like knowing when to seek advice from the human resources department on an employee leave of absence and also state law on available leave.

• • •

Setting clear expectations for department employees on procedures, policies and practices.

Managing poor-performing employees to encourage improvement and better overall teamwork.

Effective and timely warnings to clearly notify employees of deficiencies that could put their job in jeopardy.

We want to reach your school district’s supervisors to give them management tools, knowledge, and confidence to handle employment matters. Training seminars have been scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the following dates and locations: Friday, March 11 in Tulsa at the Southern Hills Marriott Tulsa Friday, April 1 in Oklahoma City at the Embassy Suites Oklahoma City Airport Visit www.ossba.org/workshops-events for more information. 

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It’s Policy

18

Julie L. Miller, OSSBA Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel

Now that the school year is about half way over, many school district administrators are reviewing student attendance records. During the review of those records, the OSSBA legal staff occasionally receives a telephone call or email asking, “What number of days has been set by statute for a student to be absent during a semester or school year?” The quick and easy answer is that Oklahoma law does not include a statutory requirement for the number of days that a student must be in session.

Student attendance is an issue that is completely in the hands of the local school board via the adoption of a policy. As a result, each school district will have its own policies and procedures which addresses the attendance requirements for students. When crafting an attendance policy the next question posed is: What should be included in a school district attendance policy?

The following are questions that should be addressed within your student attendance policies.

How many days can a student be absent without penalty?

Your policy should set out in detail the attendance requirements for students. This would include language addressing excused and unexcused absences, absences due to student activities, tardiness and truancy. The policy should include language allowing for excused absences for medical or religious reasons. Oklahoma law mandates that a school district excuse a child from attending school for the purpose of observing religious holy days upon request by the student’s parent. This includes travel time to and from the site where the holy days will be observed (70 O.S. § 10-105). These excused absences should not count against a student with regard to an overall absence limit. The only absences that should be counted against a student are “unexcused” absences.

What can be an unexcused absence?

The absence may be deemed unexcused if appropriate notification is not provided to the district in a timely manner. However, unexcused absences should always be very carefully categorized. It is highly unlikely the school district will be notified in a timely manner if a student or their family suffers a sudden and unexpected event. Exceptions should be made based upon the seriousness of the circumstances.

What are the penalties for excessive unexcused absences?

If a student exceeds the district’s number of unexcused absences, that student could be given an “incomplete” for that class. The board may not establish a policy that mandates that a student be given a failing grade due to attendance. Case law has established that it is the teacher that establishes and gives students their grades, not the school board. The policy could also provide that students with excessive absences are not entitled to participate in extracurricular activities or in school events.

The school district can’t legally fine students who have excessive absences. Public school attendance is free, therefore making it a statutory right (70 O.S. § 1-114). Children who are absent should not be required to pay a fine to the school district for their absence.

Who will hear student appeals in cases of excessive absences?

The board should incorporate an appeals process for students with excessive absences. Some districts use a committee of teachers and administrators to hear excessive absence appeals. This is a local control issue.

The OSSBA sample attendance policies are found at code FDC. Please feel free to contact Julie Miller for more information.  19

As Santayana wrote in The Life of Reason, 1905: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

For the Legislature, fall is a time to discuss and study ideas about possible legislation for the upcoming legislative session via interim studies. One study this fall focused on the idea of countywide superintendents as a way to save money.

Countywide superintendents as a costsaving measure is a historic failure.

History shows us this will happen again if the system is reinstated.

The Oklahoma Constitution, enacted in 1907, provides that each county in Oklahoma have a County Superintendent of Schools, elected by the voters of the county. In the 1933 case of Board of Com'rs of Carter County v. Woodford Consolidated School Dist. No. 36, the Oklahoma Supreme Court chronicled the history of school district formation up to that point. The court said the 1890 Statutes of Oklahoma authorized township, city and town schools, and that where the school population 20

was sufficient, four schools should be established in each township. A township board and one person elected at large would control the township schools. The township and the towns formed the units for school purposes.

In 1893, the school system was changed from township organization to district organization. By the provisions of the 1893 law, the county superintendent was to divide the county into a convenient number of school districts and to change such districts when the interest of the inhabitants required it. The county superintendent’s actions could be appealed to the board of county commissioners.

County superintendents would sometimes use their authority to change the school district boundaries at the urging of friends and supporters.

Oklahoma law now prohibits arbitrary boundary changes. Any change requires the consent of the residents with oversight from the State Department of Education.

The office of the County Superintendent of Schools also had the responsibility

to approve the contracts with teachers of the various school districts of the county. They could, in the county superintendent’s discretion, withhold approval of a contract approved by a local board of education. In the 1931 case of Schoffner v. Smith, the Oklahoma Supreme Court stated that the county superintendent was “above” the local school boards and was required to look after the welfare of the schools.

Therefore, the county superintendent was another level of bureaucratic oversight, which second-guessed the hiring decisions of the local school boards. County superintendents also had the authority to remove school district officers, including board members, for default or dereliction. Now the law puts that duty, under certain circumstances, to the board of education or a district attorney.

In addition, county superintendents decided student transfers from one district to another. This function now is largely irrelevant because of Oklahoma’s open transfer laws.

Finally, because the counties had the obligation to provide for the required separate schools for non-white students, the county superintendent was in charge of those schools. The Constitution of Oklahoma, Article XIII, Section 3, used to require "[s]eparate schools for white and colored children with like accommodation shall be provided by the Legislature and impartially maintained.”

As noted by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the 1928 case of School Dist.

No. 7, Creek Co., v. Board of Com'rs, Creek Co., in a common school district, the district board had neither authority nor control over the separate school. It neither employed teachers nor disbursed the funds of the separate school. The county superintendent employed the teachers and prescribed the rules and regulations for the separate school, which

Stephanie Mather, OSSBA Director of Legal Information and Staff Attorney did not have its own board of education as all other schools did.

Thankfully, by the unanimous United States Court opinion in the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, the separate schools were ruled to violate the provisions of the United States Constitution. All states which required separate schools, including Oklahoma, had to eliminate separate schools.

The county superintendent had the responsibility of working through that transition.

By the 1960s, the office of county superintendent of schools became largely irrelevant. In 1971, the Oklahoma legislature passed a law that said any position of county superintendent that was vacant for over one year would be

abolished. If a vacancy occurred at that time, the county commissioners could fill the vacant position in their county.

However, many commissions believed the position unnecessary and sometimes decided to leave it vacant.

An interesting approach was taken in 1989 because of the increasing sense that the position of county superintendent was unnecessary. By that time, there were only 37 county superintendents of public instruction left. The Legislature passed Section 13 of Chapter 315 of the 1989 Oklahoma Session Laws to provide adequate appropriations to the State Board of Education, which was statutorily required to provide salary supplements for county superintendents.

However, Governor Bellmon vetoed this provision and consequently the

State Department of Education was without a specific funding source for salary supplements to county school superintendents for fiscal year 1990. This was a failed attempt to do away with the remaining positions. The Oklahoma Attorney General ruled that county superintendents were elected officials and had to be paid.

In 1989, lawmakers also voted to abolish the position of county superintendent, which would go into effect in 1993. That measure was part of the landmark House Bill 1017 education reform measure.

Resurrecting county superintendents as a substitute for local district is unlikely to generate much cost savings because each district would still be governed by an elected board of education with different needs, expectations and student populations. Each district and school site still would require an administrator, whether titled superintendent, principal, headmaster, assistant superintendent or otherwise. This will, again, likely increase levels of bureaucracy in the long run, not reduce them. ď Ž

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Increasing teacher salaries in combination with altering the teacher salary schedule across experience levels could significantly reduce teacher turnover rates, according to a new study of the teacher labor market released today by the Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition and the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.

Christy Watson, OSSBA Director of Communications and Marketing

The research, conducted by University of Tulsa Assistant Professor of Economics Matthew Hendricks, suggests policymakers should consider adjusting the state’s minimum salary schedule to accelerate pay increases for newer teachers. An optimized schedule of pay raises more closely resembling that found in the private sector could help the state reverse course on its current 11 percent teacher attrition rate.

It would also increase teachers’ lifetime earnings.

Phyllis Hudecki, executive director of the Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition, said the study confirms Oklahoma must address teacher salaries to deal with the state’s acute teacher shortage and gives policymakers more information as they consider possible solutions, particularly when it comes to teacher retention.

“Oklahoma is facing another difficult budget year,” Hudecki said. “That doesn’t relieve us of the responsibility to assemble a long-term plan that strategically invests in educators and ensures every classroom has a highly qualified teacher. Lawmakers need to consider all of the possibilities.”

With a demonstrated link between teacher experience and student success, retaining experienced educators should be a top priority for legislators. Previous research indicates that productivity and effectiveness dramatically increase during a teacher’s first four years, and that a mid-career teacher’s decision to leave the profession is highly sensitive to salary changes.

Hendricks’ study analyzed salary structures that promote the greatest possible retention of these mid-career teachers. The research indicates that to

22

achieve the lowest turnover and highest productivity rates, teachers should receive larger annual pay increases earlier in their career, with more modest raises for veteran teachers. This salary structure could attract more talented individuals to the profession.

The study also examined differences between the teacher labor markets in Oklahoma and Texas, one of Oklahoma’s major teacher workforce competitors. Oklahoma would need to invest almost $400 million annually to reach the average salary of a Texas teacher, which would improve teacher retention.

“Oklahoma has to address the teacher shortage on multiple fronts,” said OSSBA Executive Director Shawn Hime. “We know we need to build a strong pipeline of future teachers.

But we also know we can’t continue to educate teachers in Oklahoma and export them to surrounding states or lose them to other professions.”

10 years. The most significant turnover occurs among novice teachers, with high-ability teachers more likely to leave public schools.

•

Schools in low-income areas tend to hire less experienced teachers and face roughly 20 percent higher attrition rates than schools in highincome neighborhoods. Current policies prohibit differentiated compensation within nearly all districts; however, closing this attrition gap is possible if schools are allowed to pay higher salaries for high-turnover positions.

•

A 15 percent increase in average salaries using a revised salary schedule would likely cause the teacher attrition rate to decline below levels found in Texas.

Additionally, teacher productivity would likely increase by at least nine percent within 10 years. By increasing teacher salaries, the state is also likely to attract more talented individuals to the teaching profession, improve the bond between teachers and students and better retain high-ability teachers.

•

State education officials have issued more than 900 emergency teaching certificates since July, more than the previous four years combined. An OSSBA survey found Oklahoma began the school year with 1,000 teaching vacancies, despite the elimination of 600 positions since last school year.

Other key findings include: •

Teachers quickly fall behind in pay relative to their private sector peers, by roughly five percent after three years and 37 percent after

“This study confirms that we have our work cut out for us in addressing how we keep quality teachers in every Oklahoma classroom,” Hudecki said.

“We look forward to continuing this discussion and using this study to inform a more updated and businesslike approach to better compensate Oklahoma teachers.”

OBEC commissioned the study on behalf of its members in partnership with the OSSBA. The study focused on issues surrounding teacher retention and did not consider whether the state has an adequate teacher supply.  23

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What is the most important way OPSUCA has helped your district?

99%

of respondents would recommend OPSUCA to non-member districts

www.opsuca.org • 405.528.3571

• Immediate answers and legal direction.

• Fighting our battles for us, leaving us more time for other things.

• OPSUCA does all the leg work for us and does so in a timely manner.

We have had great success with OPSUCA!!!

Thank you for all your help with Oklahoma Schools.

• Our district has been well represented by OPSUCA at hearings and with other legal issues.

• Taking the paperwork out of our offices.

• Your knowledge of law and the system saved us many hours, and I know it saved us money.

• OPSUCA staff has worked diligently to keep our district informed regarding our unemployment claims. The assistance we receive from OPSUCA is necessary to the success of keeping our unemployment cost under control.

Oklahoma State School Boards Association 2801 North Lincoln Blvd., Ste. 125 Oklahoma City, OK 73105 405.528.3571 • 888.528.3571 405.528.5695 fax • www.ossba.org

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID OKLA. CITY, OK PERMIT NO. 1049

IS YOUR DISTRICT LOOKING FOR A NEW SUPERINTENDENT? LET OSSBA HELP! As a school board member, you’ll do nothing more important than selecting a superintendent to lead your district, be an ambassador for public education in your community and ensure your local children receive a top-notch education.

Districts that choose OSSBA’s executive search services are backed by an entire team of dedicated professionals. Our team includes former superintendents who understand what to look for in recruiting applicants.

OSSBA’s experts in school and employment law offer valuable guidance for boards throughout the entire search process. A talented team of marketing professionals will help highlight why your district is an amazing place to work and draw applicants who are a good fit for your district.

we're ready to put our talent to work for you.

Contact Us: 405.528.3571 • shawnh@ossba.org • stephanieh@ossba.org