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Right-Sizing Oklahoma's School Districts: A Chat with Dr. James Machell of UCO

Aired on Wednesday, October 10th.

Recently, a University of Central Oklahoma professor drew much attention when he pointed out that our state could save $27 million in education spending if we consolidated our school districts. In a report called "Right-Sizing Oklahoma Districts: Examining District Size, Enrollment, and Superintendent Compensation in Oklahoma School Districts," Dr. James Machell points that the Sooner State has approximately 600 school districts -- yet in states with student populations similar to our own -- Louisiana, Alabama, and Kentucky, for example -- the average is about 200 districts. You can access Dr. Machell's paper here; he is our guest today.

Rich Fisher is celebrating his 40th year of service to Public Radio Tulsa. Since 2000, he has been the general manager of Public Radio Tulsa, and previously served as the host of the public affairs program, StudioTulsa, which ran from 1992-2021. Prior to that, he served as music director, a program host and operations director for the station.
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