Escaping the education blob

A new way to fund education

Education Savings Accounts allow parents to choose a customized mix of options.

Mom won’t give up on special-needs kids

Education Savings Accounts have been a lifesaver.

Oklahoma charter schools poised for growth

Patrick McGuigan has the story.

Quote of the day

"Teacher tenure is by far the most corrupt social institution in our time, because it doesn't reward excellence or weed out bad teachers." 

-- Bob Funk, president and founder of Express Employment Services, who served for 11 years on his local school board

'Cut waste and pay teachers'

In his latest column in The Journal Record, OCPA president Michael Carnuccio points to Oklahoma's recent growth in administrative overhead (see chart) and says there's plenty of money for teacher pay raises.

Slowing the school-choice momentum

"The Common Core controversy seems to have sucked the air out of an exploding school choice movement," Joy Pullmann writes.

Looking forward to National School Choice Week 2014

Swedish homeschoolers living in exile on Finnish island

Because homeschooling is illegal in Sweden.

Education Savings Accounts bring hope

Education Savings Accounts are bringing hope to adopted children, my Arizona compadre Jonathan Butcher writes.

Three children, given up for dead at birth. Two girls and a boy, all of Native American descent. Even if they survived, one would suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome and the physical and mental challenges that this condition causes for the rest of her life, while the two others would struggle with cerebral palsy.

Yet with Education Savings Accounts they are now able to access a variety of education services, including therapy.

It's small wonder that Heritage Foundation analyst Lindsey Burke says ESAs are Arizona's "new frontier for education."

Financially 'starved'?

"Oklahoma school district administrators not eager to discuss carry-over funds," The Oklahoman points out in an excellent editorial.

In 2007, Oklahoma school districts started the state's fiscal year with a combined $460 million in carry-over funds. This year, the carry-over total is up to $771 million, a 67 percent increase that significantly outpaces inflation. Why is so much more being held back? What do schools plan to do with the extra money? Answers to these questions are in short supply.

Special-needs scholarships nothing new

The Tulsa World reports that Oklahoma special-needs vouchers totaled $1.6 million last year. Altogether, however, the total is actually much higher.

And that's good news.

Tulsa Public Schools has its own police department

According to the CBS affiliate in Tulsa, "there were 256 incidents involving weapons in the 2011/12 school year, and that dropped by 28 last year."

This is not the way Horace Mann drew it up.