The State Department of Education took advantage of a rare opportunity to put more money into alternative education.
The agency had about $643,000 to allocate as it pleased out of $11 million returned by the state out of a February revenue failure. Most of that is going to alternative education programs offered at schools across Oklahoma, which help about 15,000 students.
"Alternative education is really targeted more at those students who are very much behind in their credits. They don't have the credits to graduate for some reason or another — they've had an event in their family that's caused them to become very behind," said Carolyn Thompson with the State Department of Education.
Thompson said the programs are highly effective.
"The graduation rate for these students is pretty impressive: 81 percent, which is only one point different than the state average," Thompson said.
The budget for alternative education will go up nearly $550,000. Carolyn Thompson with the education department says the program’s graduation rate is just one point off the state’s overall rate, but its funding keeps getting cut.
"In FY15, the alternative education line received $14,010,261. In FY17, this program was cut to under $10 million," Thompson said.
The funding boosts total alternative education spending to $10.6 million for the year. The rest of the education department's discretionary allocation went into an account to pay bonuses for teachers achieving national certification.
