You Said What In That Interim Study?

   This time of year the Oklahoma Legislature has Interim Studies. Some of these amount to a lot, sometimes nothing. But what they are good for is to see where some in the legislature sit or how well they grasp things on a certain topic. One of the legislative studies looked at consolidating the Administrative jobs of Oklahoma Public Schools. Making more of a regional administration. 

   This is the typical gripe of legislators in Oklahoma. If you ever say anything about funding they talk about money going to administration that "Is Not Getting To The Classroom". It's an Old clique.  "Superintendents are overpaid" is another good one. Let's look at some facts, though. 

   In Oklahoma administration costs are capped. Yea, let me say that again, they are capped. My school can't pay for administration cost that are over 8%. That includes more than just the superintendent. That includes his secretary, treasurer, and staff that supports those two. In Oklahoma administration costs in the state are 3.2% of all spending. Oklahoma Superintendents make about on average 3 to 4 times the average teacher salary for a management type position (remember this number please). The legislature won't want to accept this, but a big portion of this is their fault. In the last few years the legislature has passed several bills that made Oklahoma Public Schools increase the number of administrators it need to perform the duties they required of public schools. With the passage of mandatory thrid grade retention comes paperwork, documentation. When you more than double the time and paperwork of teacher evaluations that takes time, effort, people. Increased documentation requires additional secretaries as well. When you increase testing and increase class loads you require more personnel. 

   So these same legislators who gripe about administration costs pass legislation to increase the number of administrators it takes to perform the tasks they require. Then get this, they say the regional superintendents would save the state $40-$50 million per year, I won't get into how it won't save that much I will save that for another post next week. That $40-$50 million would give teachers, maybe a $750 raise each year. These same legislators give out $500 million in tax credits each year to business executives who make way more than 3 to 4 times their average employee. In fact, in the United States the typical CEO makes over 400 times more than its typical employees. So is the real problem administrator pay or how the legislators give money away and pass legislation that isn't always in the best interest of public schools?

  Let me clarify a few things before I go eat some stew and warm up. I think there are some over paid superintendents. I think there are some really great legislators who work hard to make this state great. This study may go nowhere and be the voice of a small minority of legislators, but they spent money on the study. Some refuse to look at their practices and decisions. Schools don't work on their own. We are a public entity. We do what we are legislated to do. Is 3% of total spending where we really need to look to find teacher pay raises and address the 800 teacher shortage? No, it's not, what it takes is the group on Lincoln looking at what they have done the last few years. Saying maybe we have made some mistakes and we are willing to fix them for the betterment of our state and its children. In the spirit of the holiday I will hope and believe!!