Public education is a great egalitarian experiment. All children of all races, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and of varying abilities have access to a public education in America and in Oklahoma. Sadly, tragically really, the political ruling class has tarnished this noble experiment by benign neglect or with malicious intent. They have failed Oklahoma, K-12 education, higher education, Oklahoma’s educators, and most tragically Oklahoma’s children.Oklahoma’s teachers are 49th nationally in salaries and haven’t had a pay raise in ten years. They are not treated with the respect warranted by their educational attainment, their professional status, their importance to Oklahoma’s future, not to mention the respect deserved by every single human being. Despite the neglect and disrespect and low pay, classroom teachers in Oklahoma have hung tough and only began flocking to other states with much higher salaries recently. They have tired of not being able to survive on their take home pay and often must take a second or third job to support themselves and their families. Their generosity in paying out of their pockets for materials to do their jobs and enhance educational opportunities for their students, has grown more difficult as their pay and financial support for public education have deteriorated for years.While common education, higher education, and state employees have suffered, the upper crust has thrived under Oklahoma’s elitist political ruling class. Wealthy special interests like the Oklahoma fossil fuels industry has prospered and grown ever richer and increasingly sassy and demanding. In 2014, the Oklahoma State Legislature completely lost their moorings and reduced the oil and gas gross production tax (GPT) from 7 to 2%. At 7% it was already the lowest in the nation, even lower than Texas. This boneheaded move robbed the state budget annually of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and greatly weakened public education, that was already in a devastated condition after years of neglect and starvation budgets. Higher education support has also been severely strained by the reduction in the GPT, coupled with massive reductions in the Oklahoma state income tax, heavily weighted to benefit the wealthiest Oklahomans. This adds insult to injury.Now, Oklahoma teachers have walked off the job demanding higher salaries, money for their classrooms, pay raises for support staff, and additional money to increase the salaries of other state employees. Oklahoma teachers have and deserve widespread public support. They are the veritable canaries in the coal mine. Oklahoma is disastrously close to becoming the equivalent of a third world country. The Sooner State is in freefall and has been brought to its knees. We are tough. We survived the Dust Bowl. We survived the Great Depression. Can we survive the current ideologically rigid and regressive politicians leading us to oblivion? Hell, yes! They may have God’s unlisted phone number. We have each other, true grit, determination, love for our state and our fellow Oklahomans! We have a righteous cause! Things may turn ugly. We may go through bone crunching pain. It may get worse before it gets better. The peaceful political revolution has only just begun! We Shall Overcome!!You will be fine again, Oklahoma! Oklahoma-- OK!!
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