Squabbles over education funding bills are creating a standoff between the Oklahoma House and Senate.
The House passed two enormous, conjoined bills at the beginning of this legislative session: one for a $500 million spending plan, the other for a voucher-like tax credit program to use state dollars for private school tuition. At the time, Republican House Speaker Charles McCall threatened to kill the whole package if the Senate amended it — and on Monday, Senate committees did just that.
Some of the biggest changes from the Senate were made to House Bill 2775, which among other things, originally gave teachers a $2,500 raise. The Senate version expands teacher raises to $3-6,000, depending on experience, and implements a new merit pay program for teachers and support staff.
Oklahoma City Senator Carri Hicks, a Democrat and a former teacher, voted against both bills in committee and condemns the infighting between the two chambers.
"By creating cracks or opportunities to get us to fight one another, it is a distraction from the fact that, again, there's not enough to go around in the proposal," said Hicks.
The Senate plans to vote on the amended bills today.
Oklahoma has halted a program to feed the state’s poorest children after the State Department of Education sent debit cards to a number of families who don’t qualify.
The cards are to provide supplemental nutrition assistance benefits to children for free or reduced-price meals at school.
According to a report by CNHI Newspapers, an unknown number of cards were sent to parents around the state who made too much money.
In response, the Department of Human Services has halted use of all cards – whether students qualify or not – until the State Department of Education works through the issue.
Education officials are encouraging anyone who has received the card in error to destroy it. The department told CNHI it is working to rectify the problem, but refused to acknowledge there was an error made by the state.
A similar incident occurred during the early days of the pandemic in 2021 under then-state superintendent Joy Hofmeister.
Oklahoma State University is adding a bachelor’s of nursing program to its Stillwater campus this fall. The addition will help combat the state’s nursing shortage.
Oklahoma has been in a nursing shortage for decades, and the pandemic worsened it. The state ranks 46th for nurses per capita. One of many contributing factors: nursing school barriers. Nursing programs are expensive for students and colleges, and nursing faculty are hard to find, so colleges offer a finite number of slots every year.
But there will be more in Oklahoma this year, thanks in part to the new nursing program at OSU. The program’s 50 new slots have already been filled, and the school aims to offer 100 slots in the coming years.
Last year, the University of Oklahoma expanded its nursing program and created about 100 new slots, including partnership slots in Norman and Duncan.
The Oklahoma City Housing Authority will add 500 supportive housing units for people experiencing homelessness, thanks to funds from MAPS 4.
MAPS 4 is a debt-free public improvement program funded by a temporary penny sales tax that is projected to raise $1.1 billion over eight years.
The project aims to reduce Oklahoma City’s homeless population with a $55.7 million investment in truly affordable housing. The project’s strategy is to maintain and expand affordable housing, serving vulnerable and low-income people and families.
The Oklahoma City Housing Authority will work closely with partners at the Homeless Alliance, Mental Health Association of Oklahoma and Pivot to reach homeless and low-income families who have a need for housing and other supportive services.
More than 1,300 unsheltered people were counted in the city’s 2022 Point in Time Count. And thousands of people are on an OCHA waiting list for low-income housing.
The Oklahoma City Animal shelter has been closed temporarily due to infection.
City officials say the shelter will remain closed for at least a week to identify and contain a contagious upper respiratory infection that has spread to more than 100 dogs in the last three days. Three dogs have died due to the infection.
Samples have been sent to a lab to identify the disease.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is visiting klahoma City today as a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Investing in America” tour.
The last stop on a two-day tour, Buttigieg will visit the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center and the Will Rogers World Airport in OKC to highlight upcoming federal funding for safety improvements to airfields.
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