Articles
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Budget & Tax, Education
Open transfer wins strong Senate support
Legislation increasing the opportunity for children to transfer from one public school to another won easy approval in the Oklahoma Senate.Ray Carter | March 2, 2021
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Budget & Tax
Senators seek to prevent employer tax increase
Seeking to prevent a double-digit tax increase on Oklahoma employers, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to allow the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission to direct millions of dollars in federal bailout funding to the state’s unemployment insurance fund.Ray Carter | February 24, 2021
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Judicial Reform, Budget & Tax, Education
‘3F’ scholarship bill narrowly advances
Members of a state House committee approved legislation allowing students at Oklahoma’s worst public schools to receive state scholarship funding to attend private schoolsRay Carter | February 23, 2021
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Budget & Tax, Culture & the Family
Bill may tie worker license to social-justice support
Ray Carter | February 18, 2021
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Budget & Tax
Biden’s minimum-wage hike could harm Oklahoma economy
President Joe Biden’s proposed minimum-wage increase would put Oklahoma’s long-term economic outlook on shaky ground.Curtis Shelton | February 11, 2021
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Budget & Tax
Despite downturn, state agencies ask for more
Curtis Shelton | February 11, 2021
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Budget & Tax, Education
Top education retirees paid handsomely
While there has been no shortage of research papers and news stories about teacher salaries, these often ignore a large portion of educators’ compensation: retirement benefits.Curtis Shelton | February 4, 2021
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Budget & Tax, Education
Time for some ghost-busting in Oklahoma education
Many of Oklahoma’s public school districts may be haunted. Official enrollment records show that nearly 90 percent of Oklahoma school districts have at least one “ghost student."Curtis Shelton | February 1, 2021
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Budget & Tax, Education
Legislative leader shocked by schools’ cash stockpile
Rep. Mark McBride noted combined school-district carryover almost reached $1 billion, which represents nearly one-seventh of the $7 billion public schools received last year from all sources.Ray Carter | January 27, 2021
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Budget & Tax, Health Care
Budget based on low take-up of Medicaid expansion
Officials at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which runs the state’s Medicaid system, continue to project that a voter-approved expansion of Medicaid will require state taxpayers to provide another $164 million per year.Ray Carter | January 25, 2021