OK At Top Of List Of Reductions To Education Budgets
Report: Oklahoma again No. 1 in nation in student spending cuts
by Tim Willert, NewsOK.com
Oklahoma once again leads the nation in the percentage of per-student spending cuts, according to a new report. Local school district officials called the cuts “disappointing” and “disturbing.”
Since the recession began in 2008, Oklahoma has sliced funding per student in kindergarten through 12th grade by 23.6 percent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a policy research organization based in Washington, D.C.
Expenditures have been cut by $857 per student in Oklahoma, one of 30 states providing less funding per student for the 2014-2015 school year than they did before the recession hit, figures show.
Gov. Mary Fallin’s office disputed the findings of the annual report, which makes state-by-state comparisons using inflation-adjusted dollar amounts and is the primary form of state aid to schools.
Oklahoma topped the list for the second straight year.