Four stories that were trending or generated discussion online or on KGOU’s social media platforms during the past week.
State Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, wants to give school districts the ability to give teachers other options for health insurance, retirement benefits, and salary structure. But administrator groups and teachers’ unions are pushing back. The Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration said the move would further incentivize teachers to leave Oklahoma, where teacher pay is already significantly lower than neighboring states. The Oklahoma Education Association says insurers would have a smaller risk pool if individual districts start opting out.
Reader Redok writes: “I have been an educator for many, many years, and I have yet to feel good about this noble profession! I absolutely LOVE to teach, but it becomes more and more difficult to keep my chin up. Every year is a trick bag as to whether or not we have insurance, get a raise, have a job or even whether or not we will be safe in our own schools! I have only to look forward to retirement, but even that isn't looking very good...sad...”
Oklahoma’s prison system currently operates at 122 percent capacity, forcing inmates to be doubled- or tripled-up in cells, or even sleeping in bunk beds moved out to common areas of cell blocks. There are three privately-run prisons in Oklahoma, and they hold more than 30 percent of the inmates in state custody. They cost the Oklahoma Department of Corrections more than $92 million in Fiscal Year 2015, but a pair of recent violent disturbances in Cushing are raising questions about whether easing the state’s burden is worth sacrificing prisoner safety.
Reader Kristen King wrote on Facebook: Private prisons have gotten our state to introduce legislation that increases the number of crimes categorized as 50% and 85% crimes-- meaning criminals have to serve at least that much of their sentences. We now have more of those types of crimes than just about any other state and it's a huge reason we have all this overcrowding. Additionally private prisons don't offer as many classes to rehabilitate folks, who then are more likely to get into trouble once out.
The Journal Record’s Sarah Terry-Cobo has spent most of the past year following the saga of water quality in the small southeastern Oklahoma town of Hugo. The British company Severn Trent Services neglected treatment facilities over a period of several years, which led to boil orders and the possibility of bacteria in Hugo’s drinking water that could cause diarrhea or vomiting. Oklahoma City has been considering a contract with Severn Trent to manage its drinking water services, and city councilmembers are on record saying they think Hugo was an isolated incident. The city’s Water Utilities Trust Authority approved the contract with Severn Trent last week, but at Tuesday’s meeting the full City Council delayed voting on the plan.
A grassroots petition to make anyone who performs an abortion guilty of homicide was struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court this week. The state’s high court says it’s a clear violation of U.S. Supreme Court precedent establishing a right to an abortion. State justices unanimously ruled that federal law trumps the effort unless SCOTUS says otherwise.
Reader John Pitchlynn said on Facebook: “Good...it's not the government business in the first place what medical decisions a person makes with their own bodies.”
That’s a look at four stories that audiences appreciated on KGOU’s social media and online platforms this week. We’re always interested in your comments, feel free to write to us at news@kgou.org.
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