Articles
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Education
OKCPS Approves KIPP Charter College Prep School Expansion
OKLAHOMA CITY – Proponents of school choice earned a qualified victory on July 18 when a compromise plan offered by newly-hired superintendent Aurora Lora was accepted to expand the KIPP Reach College Preparatory School in Oklahoma City.Jay Chilton | July 21, 2016
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Education
How to keep rural schools open
Every budget crunch brings another call for consolidation of Oklahoma school districts and the pushback from rural residents and their legislators. We can expect more of the same in next year’s legislative session. It is difficult for those in urban areas, especially when they look at the high per-pupil expenditures necessary to keep some rural schools open, to understand the ire that is raised in rural communities by the “consolidation” movement.Steve Anderson | July 19, 2016
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Education
Free Market Friday: Desperate for thorough journalism
I’m old enough to remember when the “watchdog press” prided itself on keeping an eye on government. So where are the watchdogs when it comes to reporting on the government’s education systems?Jonathan Small | July 15, 2016
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Education, Law & Principles
OCPA Impact Challenges Gist of Boren Penny Tax, SQ 779 Supporters Respond
OKLAHOMA CITY – OCPA Impact, an advocacy organization associated with the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, filed a challenge to the gist of State Question 779, commonly known as the Boren Penny Tax.Jay Chilton | July 8, 2016
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Education
SQ 779 Supporter Laments Not Having Money to Send Kids to Private School
OKLAHOMA CITY – When supporters of State Question 779 gathered at the state Capitol on June 24 to promote passage of the ballot initiative, commonly known as the Boren penny tax, one parent lamented her financial inability to send her children and grandchildren to private school.Jay Chilton | July 1, 2016
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Education
POSITIVE TOMORROWS IS CHANGING LIVES
At a private school in a secluded, somewhat upscale backstreet in northwest Oklahoma City, children are arriving to begin their day. Class sizes are small; there are about 16 children in each class. This school is exclusive; its daily capacity is 58 students. It has turned away hundreds more in the last few years.Kevin Calvey | June 28, 2016
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Budget & Tax, Education
The Oklahoma blob votes itself largesse
Oklahoma’s education blob—school unions, education schools, and their allies—is becoming unusually shameless in its determination to vote itself another taxpayer bailout. Of course the blob is always on the lookout for another hustle. But in Oklahoma this year, things are getting to a point that might make even Donald Trump blush.Greg Forster, Ph.D. | June 21, 2016
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Education
Free Market Friday: On a mission to save lives
Critics of school choice policies – such as vouchers, tax credits and education savings accounts – love to claim that school choice is for the rich. But what about an ordinary child for whom changing schools could literally mean the difference between life and death? That’s the case with some parents in Oklahoma City who have chosen to enroll their children at Mission Academy High School, operated by the nonprofit Teen Recovery Solutions.Jonathan Small | June 17, 2016
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Education
Free Market Friday: An important data tool
We all have opinions about how to make public schools better. Some want to spend more money, even to the point of increasing taxes. Others favor reforms like school choice. We are entitled to our own opinions, but not our own facts. Unfortunately, some important facts have been hard to find – until now.Jonathan Small | June 11, 2016
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Budget & Tax, Education
Oklahoma’s Budget Hole Could Be Much Deeper
Oklahoma’s budget crunch has been much in the news lately. But imagine how much worse the situation could be.Brandon Dutcher | June 1, 2016