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Texas teacher-pay levels and per-pupil funding are portrayed as far greater than in Oklahoma, freeing Texas school officials from the challenges facing their Oklahoma counterparts.

Parents have the fundamental right to direct their children's education and upbringing — a responsibility that must be respected by policymakers.

Noting state government has both record savings and revenue far exceeding what is required to maintain existing government services, Gov. Kevin Stitt has renewed his call for passage of major tax cuts this year.

That means public education receives more than one-third of every tax dollar collected by the state.

In 2022, per-pupil expenses in Oklahoma were $12,967. That means the state determined it costs nearly $13,000 to educate a child every year.

Saying passage of the bill sets the stage for discussion of broad tax reform, members of an Oklahoma Senate committee have approved legislation that would put the state on the path to eventually reduce the personal income tax to 2.75 percent.

Local property taxes are a great example of how, whether you bear the direct burden or not, taxation is felt by everyone.

A family of four would pay $6,568 in local and state sales taxes on average.

According to the latest data from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, total state and local tax collections in 2022 were $21.1 billion.

Adopting full scale tax reform like the one OCPA proposed last year would make Oklahoma much more competitive by eliminating the income tax while simultaneously creating a more stable sales tax by broadening the base to include more taxable services. This sort of tax reform would benefit all Oklahomans through increased economic activity in the long term without the risk of a severe government shortfall in the short term.