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Oklahomans know they’re not getting a good return on their public education investments. A survey last year of 1,016 likely Oklahoma voters by the firm Cor Strategies found that only 22 percent think taxpayers are getting a good ROI – while 66 percent do not. And it’s not just Republicans, 60 percent of Democrats say we’re not getting a good ROI.

The State Chamber of Oklahoma Research Foundation has unveiled a comprehensive vision for public policy reforms aiming “to dramatically improve our state’s rankings and prospects.”

Surveys of our men and women in uniform indicate that finding a quality education for their children is a matter of national security.

Oklahoma has submitted its mandatory education plan to the federal government. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the federal government must approve the state’s plan as a condition of federal funding.

Thanks to actions of the Legislature and Gov. Mary Fallin, a program is helping the most vulnerable and saving taxpayers money. The Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program, enacted in 2011, gives individuals and businesses a tax credit for contributions made to scholarship-granting organizations that help kids afford a K-12 school option that better meets their needs.

Between 1992 and 2014, Oklahoma’s public schools did in fact receive more money: They increased their spending by 26 percent per student in real terms (adjusted for inflation). Yet over that same time period, average teacher salaries increased by only four percent—and class sizes got bigger.

The best test of any school choice program is this simple one: Does it help kids learn more?

In Oklahoma, the chronic teacher absenteeism rate for charter schools is around 5 percent. In traditional public schools, it’s 20 percent.

For many folks in the public school establishment, it seems that “profit” is a scary word.

Regardless of total funding levels for public education, most Oklahoma students are not proficient in subjects like mathematics and English language arts – subjects that are crucial to helping any person thrive.