After a months-long standoff, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders are celebrating a deal on education funding. The plan increases recurring funds in the annual education budget by $625 million.
Here’s how it breaks down: $500 million is going into the funding formula, and much of that is aimed at getting more money to rural schools. Teachers and other certified staff will see a $3,000-$6,000 raise depending on years of experience, and teachers will also get six weeks of paid maternity leave.
The remaining $125 million of added recurring funds will go to the Redbud fund, which largely benefits rural districts and is for buildings and infrastructure improvements.
"We hear you, teachers. We need you to stay in the classroom," said Edmond Sen. Adam Pugh, who shepherded much of the Senate’s package. "Moms and dads, we want you to find the right education experience so that your children can thrive. And we hope that this great investment in education will allow that to happen."
A couple of other measures also made the cut: a $10 million, three-year reading proficiency program and $150 million three-year school safety and security pilot program.
Months after winning their union election, the Oklahoma City Apple Retail Union is beginning contract negotiations with the corporation.
After successfully becoming the second Apple store in the country to join the Communications Workers of America last October, the Oklahoma City Apple Retail Union began its contract negotiations with the corporation on Monday.
This follows the CWA filing an unfair labor practice charge against Apple with the National Labor Relations Board last month after they say an Oklahoma City employee was illegally fired without union representation.
Union members will meet with Apple for two days of bargaining a month. According to a Bloomberg Law analysis from 2022, signing a union contract can take around two years to complete.
Depending on where you’re listening, your umbrella might have seen a lot of action in the last week. Here's more on what this rain means for the parts of Oklahoma that are still dealing with drought.
Just about everything northwest of a line that stretches roughly from Altus to Miami is in some stage of drought right now. And the worst of it is in the panhandle. Unfortunately, that’s not the part of the state that’s been getting drenched for the last few days.
Oklahoma Mesonet measurements show most of central and eastern Oklahoma received between 1 and 6 inches of rain over the last week. That was enough to put huge swaths of the state under a days-long flood watch. The panhandle and northwestern corner got some rain too, but it was less than an inch over the whole week.
The U.S. Drought Monitor shows about 60% of the state is in drought. That could change when a new report comes out later this week.
Two major energy infrastructure companies in Tulsa are about to become one. ONEOK’s acquisition of Magellan Midstream Partners.
ONEOK primarily deals with natural gas pipelines while Magellan mostly works with crude oil transportation. The newly combined company will do both.
The $18.8 billion dollar deal will result in an enterprise worth roughly $60 billion.
Combined, ONEOK and Magellan have more than 25,000 miles of liquid pipeline with a heavy presence in the middle of the country.
Both are based in Tulsa and combined have thousands of employees. The deal is anticipated to close later this year.
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