By Associated Press
Oklahoma City, OK – As schools open, they must deal with budget cut
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) State and local education officials in Oklahoma preparing for the upcoming school year received a most unwelcome back-to-school present with word of a state revenue shortfall.
State financial officials on Tuesday ordered a 5 percent across-the-board cut in budget allocations to state agencies, which education officials warn could have both short-term and long-term effects.
Both Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma say they anticipated a shortfall could occur and made contingency plans that should spare students and faculty for the time being. But officials at both universities say if the shortfalls become larger in future months, it could lead to "disruptive" cuts.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Education spent Wednesday recalculating monthly payments to the state's more than 500 school districts.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.