December 2003 Volume 10 Number 12

Are Oklahoma Teachers Underpaid?

December 01, 2003

Is Oklahoma committed to quality education? Many people ask this question after seeing periodic 50-state rankings of educational spending. For example, in May 2003 the National Education Association reported Oklahoma is 47th in the nation in public school teacher pay. According to the NEA, Oklahoma's average teacher salary ($34,744) is just 78 percent of the national ave... Read More >

Betting on Gambling Is a Risky Wager

December 01, 2003

The budget deficits hitting many states have sent elected officials scurrying after new ways to increase tax revenue. Some have put forward the idea of expanding the legalization and promotion of gambling. The State of Michigan, for example, has recently introduced new gambling opportunities for bar patrons, with the hope that "Michigan's schoolchildren will benefit fr... Read More >

School Choice Reflects Our Legacy of Educational Freedom

December 01, 2003

Congress is poised to approve an historic measure that, for the first time, would allow many children in the District of Columbia to attend schools chosen by their families. This will be the nation's first federal school choice law. It's a politically bumpy road. The D.C. choice bill passed by a one-vote majority in the House. In the Senate, Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and o... Read More >

Tax Credits Keep the 'Choice' in School Choice

December 01, 2003

Last summer the Supreme Court gave the school choice movement an enormous boost by broadly affirming the constitutionality of voucher programs, and this year school choice gained surprising political support from the likes of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and California Senator Dianne Feinstein. But "school choice" is not an incantation that magically transforms education. C... Read More >

Why Can't They Read, Y'all?

December 01, 2003

By now the story formula is well known. A reporter or columnist will trot out Oklahoma's mind-boggling illiteracy statistics, profile a recovering illiterate, then end with some warm fuzzies about reading to your kids or becoming a volunteer tutor. In the case of "Henry backs reading program," an October 19 story in The Oklahoman, the warm fuzzy was the launch of a new mar... Read More >

The Slow Road to HillaryCare

December 01, 2003

First, the bad news: The Census Bureau says the number of uninsured Americans climbed by 2.4 million last year, to 43.6 million. Now the worse news: Some will attempt to use this bad news to further expand the federal government's control of the health-care system. But that's already happening - gradually, in bits and pieces. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy... Read More >

Make Legislators Join the OTRS

December 01, 2003

Oklahoma state legislative leaders, including House Speaker Larry Adair (D-Stilwell) and Senate President Pro Tempore Cal Hobson (D-Lexington), recently announced their intention to make elected officials' pension information open to the public. House Republican leader Todd Hiett (R-Kellyville) had also previously expressed support for this change. Today, that informati... Read More >

A Year to Remember

December 01, 2003

This year has been one of the most important years in OCPA's history. Not only have we produced some consequential work, but we have also celebrated a significant anniversary - number 10! None of this could have been accomplished without the assistance of many donors who have encouraged us with their faithful support. From a comprehensive policy blueprint for legislators t... Read More >

Quote Unquote

December 01, 2003

?The civil rights movement my parents were involved in ... was to guarantee access. It was to get us to the lunch counter. The new civil rights agenda, since we?re already at the lunch counter, is to make sure that our children can read the menu.? --African-American activist Mikel Holt, editor of the Milwaukee Community Journal, explaining that school choice is an ?educati... Read More >

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