Articles
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Higher Education
To Control Runaway Costs in Higher Education, Oklahoma Must Pare Down Non-Instructional Workers
The U.S. Census Bureau keeps track of all types of data on Oklahoma’s higher education system. The chart below uses Census data to examine the dramatic size and growth in the number of non-instructional workers (per 100 private-sector workers) in Oklahoma’s higher education system.J. Scott Moody & Wendy Warcholik, Ph.D. | September 9, 2016
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Good Government
Free Market Friday: Give the feds the bird
Congress threatened to stop it, a federal judge delayed it, but, in the end, it was local leaders in Oklahoma and neighboring states who stopped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the lesser prairie chicken as endangered.Jonathan Small | September 9, 2016
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Budget & Tax
Pro-Growth Tax Cuts Are Bearing Fruit in Kansas
The Midwestern governor currently occupying the greatest media bandwidth is the one just selected for a spot on the GOP ticket. We can certainly expect to see Indiana Governor Mike Pence’s name all over the news for the next four months, but it’s also worth taking a look at how other Midwestern governors are making a real impact, and at the state level.Rex Sinquefield | September 2, 2016
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Good Government
Free Market Friday: ABLE to regulate
“Raise a glass to freedom,” the hit musical Hamilton recommends. Many Oklahomans did just that last Friday in celebration of Senate Bill 424. Of course, implementing the law to allow beer sales at breweries almost didn’t happen. Last-minute hijinks at the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission threatened to nullify the legislation that had passed easily through the Legislature with bipartisan support.Jonathan Small | September 2, 2016
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Culture & the Family
Women think for themselves
Two years ago this summer, I resigned my position as a director of communications to become a so-called “stay-at-home mom.” At eight months pregnant with my first baby, I knew I wanted to devote myself full-time to civilizing my children and to ordering my household.Tina Korbe Dzurisin | September 1, 2016
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Education
School Choice Makes Teachers Free to Teach
There has been a lot of talk lately about politicians interfering in classrooms, but this isn’t actually a new problem. Politicians have been interfering with good teaching ever since we created a government monopoly on schools—because that’s what a government monopoly does.Greg Forster, Ph.D. | September 1, 2016
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Higher Education
Higher Ed’s Future Rushes In
Tuition at Oklahoma’s 25 public colleges and universities will go up an average of 8.4 percent this year, the Associated Press reports. Hikes for undergraduates will range from Langston’s 3.7 percent boost to about 13 percent at Rose State.Patrick B. McGuigan | September 1, 2016
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Law & Principles
Voters' Guide to Ballot Measures
A product of the populist era, the Oklahoma Constitution establishes processes for direct democracy. On the November 2016 general election ballot, Oklahoma voters will decide whether to adopt four constitutional amendments and three changes to state statutes.Trent England | September 1, 2016
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Education
School Districts Express Willingness to Comply with Law
Overwhelming majorities of public school websites reviewed by OCPA’s Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) during a recent analysis were out of compliance with the state’s School District Transparency Act.Jay Chilton | August 31, 2016
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Education
In Districts with Recent Misconduct, Transparency Compliance Is Mixed
Most Oklahoma school districts are not in compliance with the statutory requirement to publish credit-card statements on the school district’s website—including some districts with recent high-profile instances of financial misconduct.Jay Chilton | August 29, 2016