Legislative leaders and the governor’s budget deal does not include additional funding for education. School and city leaders in Tulsa say a flat budget will be devastating. Public school funding won’t increase under the budget agreement and Union Schools Superintendent Cathy Burden says it will mean cuts impacting the quality of education. She says while the district has lost millions in state funding since 2008, the number of students continues to grow.
While school funding doesn’t increase in the new budget, it does include 52 million dollars for teacher health care benefits and merit bonuses that had to be funded with supplemental appropriations this year.