Education
Free Market Friday: The $1.5 million press box
August 26, 2016
Jonathan Small
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.
You wouldn’t know it from media reports, but Oklahoma’s education system had $8.7 billion in total revenue last year, the most in state history. But oftentimes the schools’ spending priorities are real head-scratchers.
Consider, for example, Catoosa Public Schools. Oklahoma Watch reported last week that while Catoosa is switching to a four-day school week and reducing staff, it also (thanks to bond proceeds) bought MacBook computers for all middle- and high-school students and is building a $1.5 million press box at the high school football field.
Staff reductions are understandable. After all, Catoosa’s growth in non-teaching staff has far outpaced student growth over the last two decades, according to data that the Oklahoma State Department of Education reports to the U.S. Department of Education.
While Catoosa’s enrollment increased by 6 percent and the number of teachers increased by 10 percent, non-teaching staff increased by 27 percent. That’s money that could have gone to teacher pay raises. It’s all about setting priorities.