“Faced with difficult choices, the school budget approved today strikes the right balance by funding those programs that provide the most direct benefit to students,” said state Rep. Earl Sears, a Bartlesville Republican who chairs the House Appropriations and Budget Committee. “The budget adopted today will allow our schools to continue their important mission of preparing the next generation of leaders for college and the workforce.”
“This is the third year the state has faced a major budget shortfall, and government continues to adjust to the ‘new normal’ of budget austerity,” said state Sen. David Myers, a Ponca City Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. “However, the budget approved today for Oklahoma schools adopts the right approach by prioritizing student learning over bureaucracy and fulfilling important funding obligations established in law. I appreciate the strong leadership of Superintendent Barresi in making the tough decisions necessary to guide our schools through this tough financial time.”
State Senator Clark Jolley also praised State Superintendent Janet Barresi and members of the state Board of Education for funding reading programs throughout the state.
“Our recent reforms to end social promotion for students who can’t read after the third grade can only succeed with the appropriate level of support,” said Jolley (R-Edmond). “I appreciate the hard work that Superintendent Barresi did in making sure that reading sufficiency funding was addressed in this tight fiscal climate.”
Superintendent Barresi today recommended that the board approve an approximately $401 million school activities budget for fiscal year 2012 that includes more than $6 million for reading sufficiency programs.
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