WATCH VIDEO
Ali Meyer Reporting, KFOR
5:22 PM CDT, September 21, 2010
Today Governor Brad Henry came out against SQ 744 saying it's bad policy to take from other agencies to give to common education.
Governor Brad Henry says, "If SQ 744 passes, it will absolutely devastate the budgets of all other critical areas of state government. We just cannot allow that to happen."
The Teachers Union is one of the main backers of the state question proposition.
Many teachers believe SQ 744 is the first step to improving education spending in Oklahoma.
Ben Brink says, "If they're funding education per student higher than we are, then we'll never be able to catch up with them."
Heather Sparks, a teacher at Taft Middle School in Oklahoma City, says, "Right now we're sitting forty-ninth in the country on what we spend on children in the country. That's horrible. We've got to make a difference for our children today by making this happen."
Brian Grimm, who teaches in the Tulsa Public School District, says, "By funding public education, our students have the same chances as the students in the states that surround Oklahoma."
The measure does not raise taxes.
It also does not provide new funding for the new spending.
Instead, our state legislature will have to decide where that money comes from if SQ 744 passes.
Posted on
Tue, September 21, 2010
by Crystal Drwenski