Education
Jonathan Small | February 17, 2015
Oklahoma's Per-Pupil Available Revenues At An All-Time High
Jonathan Small
Last year we noted that total available funding to K-12 schools was at an all-time high. According to the Oklahoma State Department of Education, per-pupil available revenues have again reached an all-time high. To calculate per-pupil available revenue, one simply divides the total available revenue by the total enrollment. The total available revenues to K-12 schools were $8.5 billion for FY-2014, or $12,481.73 per pupil.
One remarkable area of growth for K-12 schools is local district revenue. Since 2008, local district revenue available to K-12 schools has grown $489 million, or 28 percent, setting a record of $2,237,394,488.15 in FY-2014.
Also, the amount of state revenue for the Education Flexible Benefit Allowance has reached an all-time high. The amount that lawmakers have devoted to health benefits has soared $93 million, or 33.18 percent, just since 2008, reaching the current record of $374,304,075.32 in FY-2014.
Jonathan Small
President
Jonathan Small, C.P.A., serves as President and joined the staff in December of 2010. Previously, Jonathan served as a budget analyst for the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, as a fiscal policy analyst and research analyst for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as director of government affairs for the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Small’s work includes co-authoring “Economics 101” with Dr. Arthur Laffer and Dr. Wayne Winegarden, and his policy expertise has been referenced by The Oklahoman, the Tulsa World, National Review, the L.A. Times, The Hill, the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post. His weekly column “Free Market Friday” is published by the Journal Record and syndicated in 27 markets. A recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s prestigious Private Sector Member of the Year award, Small is nationally recognized for his work to promote free markets, limited government and innovative public policy reforms. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and is a Certified Public Accountant.