Articles

Oklahoma state legislators get a lot of criticism. That goes with the job, but sometimes criticism becomes downright absurd.

CLINTON—Phillip Koons has coached football in Oklahoma for more than 20 years. The majority of his time was spent at Tuttle High School where he led the Tigers to two state championships and produced a blue-chip quarterback named Jason White, who would later become a Heisman Trophy winner as an Oklahoma Sooner in 2003.

When asked what’s the best educational choice for their own children, one might expect near unanimity from Oklahoma public school teachers. Teachers might favor their own schools not just for reasons of loyalty to one’s employer (Thunder employees don’t cheer for the Warriors), but because they have firsthand knowledge of school quality and safety.

Should parents be allowed to use the tax dollars intended for the education of their child to subsidize the cost of an education at a privately operated school? Most Oklahoma voters say yes, according to a new SoonerPoll Quarterly Poll, with regular church attenders and evangelicals expressing even stronger support.

In recent months I have written several articles about a rural revitalization program for Oklahoma that mirrors the Rural Opportunity Zone (ROZ) program in Kansas, a program I helped to create. ROZ was the first economic plank in Governor Sam Brownback’s plan to address 50 years of lackluster economic performance by the state.

Scouting is done, the draft is over, and the rosters are set. In sports, nobody at this point would think the season is over. And in politics, with the election behind us, this is right where we are.

OKLAHOMA CITY—Alan Neitzel served for nearly 30 years at Rose State College before retiring in December of 2015 as the director of grants and contracts. During his time, Neitzel said he was witness to innumerable instances of fraud and waste at the college, sometimes by his own office. He said that public education at all levels in Oklahoma is fraught with rampant waste, and taxpayers should not give any more money to state-funded education until the dollars they currently receive are handled responsibly and transparently.

In a report from the state of Oklahoma Incentive Evaluation Commission on the tax credit for zero-emission facilities, the commission made clear that state subsidies for wind power generation in Oklahoma are decimating the state budget.

The change in presidential administrations is likely to usher in a new set of policy ideas and proposals. In the case of food and agriculture, the new president does not have to look far, as prominent food writers have already been making an aggressive case to retool the way the federal government regulates food and the farm.

The Oklahoma legislature passed a straightforward law legalizing brewers to sell their own beer on their own premises. They could already give out samples, and wineries were earlier freed to sell their own wine and host wine tastings. With the brewery law set to take effect on August 26 of this year, everyone was happy. Everyone except Keith Burt.