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In higher education, the key to containing and reducing costs is improved productivity, meaning “doing more with less.” Yet in a new report published by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, we found that Oklahoma has done the opposite.

The time for school choice as Oklahoma’s central education policy is past due. I advocate choice not because I think any one step taken is a panacea, but because liberty is the heart of the American dream. That dream must belong to more, not fewer, of us.

If Oklahoma is going to adopt sweeping reforms to serve foster children better, it shouldn’t just think about homes. It should think about schools. As state policymakers scrounge to find $150 million to implement a proposed plan to reform the foster care system, they should also implement a policy which would actually save money. By doing so, they could revolutionize life for some of Oklahoma’s most vulnerable children.

Should the state officials you elect be informed about federal funds spent in Oklahoma? For that matter, should citizens have access to data that reveal the strings attached to federal dollars in our state?

More and more frequently, defenders of the status quo in public education assert that public charter schools need to be made more “accountable.” Further, many assert that private schools, if their students are allowed to participate in emerging educational choice options, should meet the same “accountability” requirements as public schools. But let’s think about this for a moment. In what sense are public schools truly “accountable”?

The question is often asked, “How do we fix public schools?” Dr. Jay Greene, an education professor at the University of Arkansas, has an innovative answer: “We can fix schools by going around them.”

“Education is the key to freedom and opportunity,” Mr. King said. “We basically have one supplier, the public education system, and it has become a huge bureaucracy. This bureaucracy has to be challenged. Fairness demands that every child, not just the rich, has access to an education that will help them achieve their dreams.”

At a legislative panel hosted by the State Chamber of Oklahoma on December 3, Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, House Speaker Jeff Hickman, and Democratic Minority Leader Scott Inman were asked what could be done to address the problem of "uncompensated care," which is allegedly putting a financial squeeze on Oklahoma hospitals.

49th in per-pupil spending may or may not be OK. But widespread school-produced illiteracy is most certainly not OK.

Of course, politics can also be dishonest, dirty, and, to say the least, discouraging. State history (some very recent) is littered with examples. Will this year be any different? It can be. Here are five key leadership traits that, if embraced by state leaders, would benefit all Oklahomans.