Public education is still in a crisis. We have taken some steps to remedy the problem but they are not nearly enough – we cannot go backwards. Year after year we see attempts by not only outside groups, but also short-sighted politicians at the Capitol, to siphon funds from public schools. Representative Brewer fully understands that public education funds belong to public schools and they should never be redirected to for-profit entities who’s primary concern is their own profit margin or the ending line balance of their shareholders.
We continue to see teachers leaving the profession or the state for better opportunities. There is a simple solution to this problem and we need legislators like Rep. Brewer who will continue to fight for proper funding, even if this means dipping into the Rainy Day Fund. Or, better yet, reduce allocations to the savings account and get caught up on the bills we should have been paying in the first place.
Education is one of the biggest driving forces of a healthy economy. Without a top-of-the-line public education system, recruiting business that create new jobs and bring families to Oklahoma, will continue to be a major challenge for our state. Companies look for healthy public education systems where many of their employees will enroll their children in K-12 schools and when we continue to be near the bottom in the nation, there is little incentive for those families to move to our state.