Bills aimed at retaining and recruiting Oklahoma teachers
With enrollment in Oklahoma teaching programs dwindling, the state is struggling to helm its classrooms with traditionally certified educators. Two bills recently proposed are aimed at retaining and recruiting Oklahoma teachers.
Representatives Mark McBride of Moore and Rhonda Baker of Yukon are the authors of House Bill 2559. It would expand eligibility for an existing scholarship that gives education students up to $5500 to teach in Oklahoma after they graduate.
We have over 2,000 people currently that have applied for the scholarship since July. So it's pretty large. It's working.”
McBride and Baker also authored House Bill 2558, which would give teachers who receive their National Board Certification a $5000 annual bonus rather than the existing $1100 salary bump. Both bills have passed the House Appropriations & Budget Subcommittee for Education.
Oklahoma City Council election results
Valentine’s Day was also election day for many Oklahomans, KGOU has those results.
In Oklahoma City, Mark Stonecipher was reelected in Ward 8. JoBeth Hamon was able to keep her seat in Ward 6 over challenger Marek Cornett in a race that got pretty contentious.
Ward 5 will be decided in an April runoff. There were a couple of interesting races for the Norman City Council. In Ward 5 there will be a runoff between incumbent Rarchar Tortorello and Michael Nash, who are both against turnpike expansion in the Norman area.
There was a legal question over whether Ward 3 Councilman Kelly Lynn could continue to serve in that role after an appointment as a judge. But he lost his reelection bid, bringing an end to that controversy.
Bond proposals pass in Norman, Stillwater and Mustang
Voters across Oklahoma also considered a number of school bond proposals yesterday. In Mustang, Norman and Stillwater, they approved them overwhelmingly. In Norman, the package will pay for a new football stadium for Norman North and renovations at Norman High’s stadium. In Mustang and Stillwater, students will get new classrooms and other facilities. Passage means bond issues are very popular in the communities that approve them. In Oklahoma 60 percent of voters must approve a local school bond issue for it to pass.
Thousands of Oklahomans to lose Medicaid coverage
The federal government is rolling back some Medicaid policies that kept hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans covered throughout the pandemic, and in response, SoonerCare officials are now working to avoid coverage gaps.
In early 2020, the federal government created a policy that allowed anyone who enrolled in Medicaid during the pandemic to stay on it, even if they’ve lost eligibility - usually by getting a raise or new job that makes their income too high. That policy stops at the end of March. Secretary of Health Kevin Corbett says that’s going to mean a big drop in enrollment.
At this point in time, about 300,000 individuals by our estimation are no longer eligible.
That’s of the 1.3 million currently enrolled. The state is going to phase these people out of the program instead of suddenly dropping them. Corbett says many of the adults who lost eligibility already have traditional health insurance, so they’ll be the first to lose that coverage. Next will be adults who haven’t been using their benefits. Some have lost eligibility because of paperwork issues, so the Oklahoma Health Care Authority is urging members to get in touch and ensure their documents are up to date.
Curfew for minors proposed for Bricktown
Young visitors to Oklahoma City’s Bricktown might have to call it a night a little bit earlier due to a new curfew proposal for the entertainment district.
Under a proposal to the Oklahoma City Council, minors would need to clear out of Bricktown by 9 p.m. The current curfew in the area is 11 p.m., and OKC’s city-wide curfew for anyone under 18 is a minute after midnight during the week and 1 am on weekends.
Bricktown’s business association supports the move, saying it will increase safety in the district. City officials say they still hope young people will go to Bricktown, but will leave earlier to return to their families or engage in “other youth-oriented activities.”
The ordinance is due to have a public hearing before council on February 23rd and would be up for a full vote on March 14th. It would go into effect immediately upon approval.
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