Preview Of State Board Of Education Meeting
The state board of education’s monthly meeting is tomorrow.
The board of education meeting will begin with the swearing in of Zachary Archer - one of two new board members appointed by the governor last week.
Archer works as a financial advisor and managing director at Great Plains Investment Services. There are a few other things of note on the agenda: Tulsa Public Schools will again present an update on its improvement plan.
As with the last several board meetings, the agenda includes language indicating action on the district’s accreditation status is still on the table.
At the September meeting, the board adopted an emergency rule prohibiting districts from altering sex or gender designations on prior school records without authorization from the board.
That rule is already being put to use - Cushing and Moore Public Schools are requesting authorization for two of their students.
Lawmakers Seeking Solutions For Declining Groundwater Levels
State lawmakers met this week to discuss the declining ground-water levels and explore possible solutions.
Oklahoma State University geology professor Todd Halihan says he’d like producers, tech developers and lawmakers to figure out a framework for injecting water back into Oklahoma’s aquifers.
:Getting all the regulatory hurdles so that if somebody calls up and says, I want to put my water in the ground, it's not. Well, that's an interesting idea. It's hey, here's what you got to do. We're going to have to do this paperwork and do these tests and go,” Halihan told lawmakers during the interim study.
Other experts presented groundwater metering, smart irrigation and voluntary conservation programs as possible solutions.
Western Oklahoma Republican State Representative Carl Newton says he authored this interim study because Oklahomans need to be better stewards of the state’s water.
Opioid Abatement Grants
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond extended the deadline for local groups to send letters of intent for grants meant to counteract impacts of the opioid epidemic.
Eligible groups like counties, municipalities, public school districts and other groups have until 5 p.m. on Nov. 8 to pursue opioid abatement grants.
The grants can be used for things like treatment and recovery programs, opioid abuse education and prevention, and strategies to decrease narcotics supplies.
The $23 million in grants is the first distribution of nearly $1 billion in opioid lawsuit settlement funds from the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board.
The number of grants awarded and their amounts will be determined by the number of letters submitted and each category of local entities.
Forms for letters of intent are on the board’s website, and finalized letters can be emailed to the board.
Oklahoma City Thunder Season Opener
The 16th season of Oklahoma City Thunder basketball tips off Wednesday, with the team in Chicago to face the Bulls.
The Thunder will once again be one of the youngest teams in the NBA.
Seven-foot-one-inch Rookie of the Year candidate Chet Holmgren will play for the Thunder this season. He sat out all of last year due to injury.
Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault says it’s important for the young team to constantly be getting better.
“You gotta be able to improve on the marginal things. That’s the great thing about the game - it’s 48 minutes long, there’s 105 possessions on each end of the floor," said Daigneault.
"There’s gonna be some good things and there’s gonna be some things you need to improve. You wanna maintain the good and you wanna improve the bad.”
Tip-off for Wednesday's game is set for 7 p.m.
The Thunder's first home game of the season will be Sunday evening, against the reigning NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets.
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