Gov. Henry Announces Opposition to State Question 744

A longtime supporter of common education, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry announced his opposition to a state question that would dramatically increase funding for public schools. <br /><br /><strong>More</strong> <a href="http://www.news9.com/story/12588825/voting-101-how-to-register-to-vote" target="_blank">Voting 101: Navigating the Ballots</a>

Tuesday, September 21st 2010, 12:40 pm

By: News 9


Staff and Wire Reports

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A longtime supporter of common education, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry announced his opposition to a state question that would dramatically increase funding for public schools.

Governor Henry said during his eight years in office, he's made Public Education a top priority. While he said the state does need to increase funding for education, he thinks State Question 744 is the wrong way to do it.

"I'm absolutely for increased funding for K-12 education, but not if it has to come at the expense of every other critical function of state government," Gov. Henry said. "State question 744 will hurt education, ironically. It would actually result in a reduction of funding for critical programs and higher education in career tech and world renowned early childhood education program."

Henry made the announcement during a scheduled news conference Tuesday with opponents of State Question 744, a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the November ballot. It would require the state within three years to meet the regional average of per-student spending in surrounding states.

"From a personal standpoint, this has been a very difficult decision for me. From a policy standpoint, it's a no brainer," Henry said.

Henry has previously said that while he's sympathetic to the supporters' goals to boost education funding, he can't support the measure because of the fiscal havoc it could impose on state government.

A fiscal analysis of the proposal projects an increased cost to the state of $1.7 billion over three years.

"I think the easiest thing for me would have been to sit on the sidelines and stay out of this debate. But I think this debate is so absolutely important, especially given the dramatic negative consequences with the passage of State Question 744," Henry said.

Henry said he also thinks this is the most important state question Oklahoma voters have seen in at least 20 years

Those who are for the measure, including the state's largest teacher union, are disappointed but not surprised at Henry's announcement that he will now chair the One Oklahoma Coalition, the main group opposed to SQ 744, during his last months in office.

"He's a politician. Politicians are not in favor of 744. It's taking their power away," said Heather Sparks, who supports State Question 744.

Sparks is not only a member of the Yes on 744 Advisory Committee, she's also a former Teacher of the Year. She said something needs to be done to fix the state of education in Oklahoma.

According to the Yes on 744 website, Oklahoma falls way short on its annual per student funding compared to neighboring states. The measure would bump up what the state currently spends on each student by changing the state constitution to require lawmakers to fund common education at the regional average.

"We believe we can do better than Arkansas and Texas,  that it's sad that they are beating us right now in what they are spending on education. We can do better and we expect to do better with 744," Sparks said.

Meanwhile opponents to the measure said they are glad to have Henry officially on board.

"This is a coalition that wants to come together for the good of Oklahoma to find better solutions that don't penalize other areas of state government," said Crystal Drwenski, with the One Oklahoma Coalition.

The Oklahoma Education Association President Becky Felts issued the following response to Governor Brad Henry's press conference where he spoke out against State Question 744:

"We are disappointed, but not surprised, to see that Governor Henry has reiterated his previous opposition to SQ744. We know that politicians don't like SQ744 because it holds our leaders accountable for the campaign promises they make to our students. It is very unfortunate that he announced his opposition to greater investment in our children's education during the Teacher of the Year award ceremony today. Over the last eight years our state has fallen to nearly last in the nation in both per-pupil investment and teacher salaries. Fortunately for the children of Oklahoma, the people get to decide this question – not the politicians."

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