Articles
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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
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Education
Free Market Friday: The $1.5 million press box
It’s back-to-school time, which means that budget-conscious parents – spending money on school clothes, backpacks, and more – are setting priorities. Education officials should do the same.Jonathan Small | August 26, 2016
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Education
School Districts Fail to Comply With Transparency Law
One portion of an Oklahoma law dealing with financial disclosure requires Oklahoma school districts to publish district credit card statements for public review on the district’s website. Though some schools are in full compliance, a sampling of 10 percent of the school district websites suggests that the overwhelming majority are not.Jay Chilton | August 23, 2016
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Health Care
Free Market Friday: Obamacare failure hurts Oklahomans
It seems like a long time ago, but it was just 2009 when our country was roiled by debates over what became known as Obamacare. President Obama argued that more government control would create more choices and lower costs. Opponents said the new entitlement program would do just the opposite and, in the end, hurt the people it was supposed to help.Jonathan Small | August 19, 2016
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Criminal Justice
Free Market Friday: Mental health, substance abuse transformation
Jonathan Small | August 12, 2016
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Education
Oklahomans (still) support parental choice in education
An honest reading of the public-opinion survey data over the past couple of years shows that Oklahomans favor educational choice. But what if a pollster explored the question again now, in this climate dominated by daily news stories in which the public education community (despite $8.7 billion in annual revenue) tells us the sky is falling?Brandon Dutcher | August 11, 2016
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Education
Why Are School Districts Sitting on So Much Cash?
Oklahomans who have been told repeatedly that Oklahoma’s schools are underfunded may be very surprised to learn that the schools in fact have “savings accounts” that are full of cash sitting idle.Steve Anderson | August 5, 2016
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Education
Free Market Friday: Opportunity to save teachers and taxpayers
The condition of take-home pay for teachers in Oklahoma is dire. If one doesn’t believe so, all a person has to do is look at recent polling that shows 97 percent of Oklahomans believe teachers deserve a raise.Jonathan Small | August 5, 2016