Oklahoma

Funding priorities for p-12 and higher education

In the spring of 2020, Oklahoma experienced a substantial revenue shortfall due to the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic.¹ The decrease in revenue and resulting cuts to all state agencies, including common, P-12, and higher education mean the state is focused on damage control rather than expanding opportunities to students.

The previous two fiscal years witnessed a marked increase in P-12 funding with a smaller increase in higher education funding; however, the advances of the previous two years have largely been erased. SB1921 provided for the appropriation of $243,668,709 from state savings to support common education in FY 21. The total appropriation for common education was set at just under $3 billion dollars, 2.55 percent lower than FY 20.¹

Unfortunately, higher education has been more heavily impacted by cuts than P-12. Appropriations for FY 21 are $770 million dollars; well short of the Regents' request of $927 million dollars for this fiscal year.²

Changes to funding formula for p-12 and higher education

The P-12 funding formula has not changed for FY 21; however, the inputs via appropriations are negative comparable to the previous two fiscal years. The final FY 20 per pupil allocation was $3,581.44 and initial FY 21 per pupil allocation is $3,467.16, a 3.19 percent decrease.³

For higher education, the state appropriation for total system operations has decreased 4 percent from FY 20 and the representation in the overall state budget declined .9 percent to 10 percent.¹

Pressing state issues affecting p-12 and higher education funding

Even before the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, early projections for state revenue indicated a need for a flat budget year in FY 21. Governor Kevin Stitt's executive budget in February did not include pay raises for teachers or state employees, ending the trend of the past two years.⁴ On April 20, the Oklahoma Board of Equalization declared a revenue failure, attributed to the affects of COVID-19 on the state economy, for the remainder of the fiscal year, totaling $416.9 million.⁵ While state agencies faced cuts, the P-12 system and higher education were held harmless for the remainder of FY 20 by use of the state's rainy day fund.⁶

The funding outlook for P-12 and higher education continues to be grim. The final state appropriations bill for FY 21 allocated $7.715 billion, a decrease of $283.2 million from FY 20, including a $78 million cut to common education and $32 million to higher education. School districts are now left with a largely unfunded mandate to cover costs associated with the teacher raises of the previous two fiscal years with less money.² For higher education, the $770,040,000 appropriation for FY 21 is much less than the $814,772,157 appropriation for FY 2001 and lower than at any point in the last 20 years.⁷

Alternatives to traditional public school and funding trends for alternatives

Throughout the summer, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) worked on an released several versions of a "Return to Learn" document, which was designed to serve as a general guidance and best practices tool to assist school districts around the state with making decisions on how instruction would begin in the fall. The OSDE envisioned three major forms of instructional delivery: traditional, face-to-face, instruction, distance (fully digital) learning, and blended learning. As of the writing of this report, school districts have chosen to pursue a combination of one, two, or even all three of these formats. In addition, the Oklahoma State Board of Education voted to allow districts to operate classes on Saturdays, though none have currently accepted this option.⁸

A direct result of the COVID-19 epidemic was the huge increase in enrollment for the state's largest virtual charter school, EPIC, which has now surpassed Oklahoma City Public Schools as the state's largest public-school system with 38.026 students enrolled.⁹

Per pupil expenditure of state...