CTE Matters

March 2013: Legislative Update

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 03:48:00 +0000

Pat McGregor
Executive Director, OkACTE

OkACTE Members:

Deadline Week ends on March 14!

The first major deadline of the Legislative Session came and passed on March 14 as both the House and the Senate moved over 400 bills to the opposite chamber of this, the 54^th Oklahoma Legislature. Our tracking list should be updated now to only include ACTIVE bills that made their way through the exhaustive committee and floor processes of the two chambers. So far, things have not gone too badly for Education. There have been comments in both chambers to support an increase in funding for education this session after several years of flat funding and some decreases in overall dollars to support public education in Oklahoma’s K-12 system, CareerTech, and of course, Higher Education. A number of bills were passed to attempt: taking care of the unfunded mandates for education that were passed by previous legislatures, restoring the National Certified Teacher stipend, studying the flawed A to F laws, changing EOI testing, increasing opportunities for CareerTech students in Oklahoma’s Promise Scholarship program, and many other issues surrounding public education that are still alive and moved to the opposite chambers for consideration.

CareerTech Funding

Almost daily, we are working with the appropriation chairs, appropriation subcommittee chairs in both chambers and the leadership to “plow the ground” for finally increasing the State’s support for Career and Technical Education. There is still much work to do here. We feel strongly that the House leadership is going to do their best to increase funding for CTE this year. Our challenge is in the Senate and particularly the Appropriation Committee Chairman. We have met with small groups of Senators in informal settings and there is some support from these groups to meet the needs of CTE as has been presented by the Department of CareerTech and many of our other advocates at the Capitol. We are asking for a 19 million dollar increase in the base funding to CTE. We also are challenged by the apparent lack of support coming from the Governor’s office as she proposed a 0% increase in funding for Career and Technical Education in the budget she presented to the legislature in January. A lot of this comes from her desire to increase funding for mental health and a few other agencies as well as her efforts to influence the legislature into decreasing or eliminating the states personal income tax. She has recently softened her stance on funding for education and is now mentioning in many of her speeches that it is time to increase dollars appropriated to common education.

In order to accomplish our goals of increasing dollars for common education and CareerTech we will be announcing some important advocacy efforts over the next few weeks to help turn around the support we need from key policy-makers in this area. We will need our members to make calls and send e-mails asking for support of CTE over the next few weeks. Please keep an eye on your e-mail boxes over the next two months as quick responses to alerts will be very important.

School Safety Issues

All of us who work to keep our schools safe and secure are watching very closely the activity at the capitol around this issue and of course changes in Gun laws. Lt. Governor Lamb’s commission on School Safety and Security has completed its mission and some of those findings will be incorporated in legislation that is poised to move through the process. We will support these bills. However, some overzealous legislators have moved a couple of bills through the process that we feel are not good solutions to the recent shootings that have occurred in schools around the country. One of these, HB 1062 allows School Districts to adopt policies of arming teachers and administrators. Even though there are some teachers who would like to be able to carry weapons in schools, the complexities of developing policies and practices that would protect the innocent in our schools is enormous. These bills will also, in my opinion cause the gun lobby to begin putting pressure on school board members to adopt these policies. This bill also forces the school district to pay for the training of these armed officials without any financial support to the districts. This bill has passed the House of Representatives and is on its way to the Senate. Look for the Senate to hold this up and probably try to move forward more of the language that was designed and recommended by Sen. Lamb’s task force. The bills introduced with the recommendations of the Lt. Governor’s Commission are; SB’s 256, 257, 258, and 259. You can find the text on these bills and HB 1062 on our website at: www.okacte.org.

State Revenue and Income Tax

The discussion of elimination of the income tax and whether or not these proposals by the Governor and legislative leaders are revenue neutral are beginning to appear on the policy makers’ radar. Senate Republicans are offering a plan that lowers the top rate on personal income tax from 5.25% to 4.75% and eliminate some expensive tax credits and exemptions at the same time. This results in net revenue losses to the State’s coffers at somewhere around 108 million dollars but that would not hit for a while. The House Republican’s and the Governor are supporting a plan which would lower the top rate by a quarter of a percent with no revenue offsets. This plan would cost the state about 120 million dollars per tax year. Obviously, in a year in which the legislators have about 215 million extra dollars in available revenue for appropriations, these decisions could affect available dollars needed to increase funding for Common Ed and CareerTech. The Senate bill will go after personal exemptions that effect middle income earners especially those with dependents. So, as you might guess, these plans could move toward a compromise bill or be shelved altogether as they were last year. I am working with a group called TogetherOk whose mission is to provide Oklahomans the real truth about these tax and revenue measures. More information about this group can be found at their website: www.TogetherOk.org .

Happy Spring!! Patrick McGregor, Executive Director, OkACTE

A Changing of the Guard: CTE Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 04:21:00 +0000

In Oklahoma and the nation the face of CTE and the leadership therein is undergoing major changes. These are not limited to but include; A new State Director of Career and Technology Education in Oklahoma, a search for and selection of a new Executive Director of our national organization the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE), newly elected members on the ACTE national board of directors, many who are from Oklahoma, and changes in the State leaders of our Oklahoma Legislature.

Oklahoma Director of CTE

Oklahoma’s own Dr. Phil Berkenbile, recently retired from the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education after serving in several positions for the ODCTE, most recently State Director since 2004. Dr. Phil retires after serving as one of the most hardworking and consistent leaders Oklahoma’s nationally recognized system has enjoyed in recent history. Dr. Phil now has plans to run for the Board of Education for Morrison Public Schools, his home district and spend his time working for the community and running his farming operation in central Oklahoma. Phil will be missed by all of us and we wish him well and congratulate him on his service to CTE in Oklahoma that expanded over forty years. His support of OkACTE as a member and an advisor to our organization has certainly helped us grow into the largest state CTE organization in the U.S.

Replacing Dr. Phil will be Dr. Robert Sommers from Ohio. Many of us have known Dr. Sommers through his background as a former Agriculture Instructor in Ohio and as a former Superintendent of Butler Tech in Hamilton, Ohio. Bob has visited Oklahoma several times over the past few years and has been active in ACTE serving on several important task forces over the years. He also has experience in State politics in Ohio and in addition, worked for the State Department of Education in Ohio for many years. These experiences will serve him well in Oklahoma as CareerTech here is definitely a player in Economic and Workforce Development and is supported by many of our policy makers and industry leaders. We look forward to working with Dr. Sommers and wish him well in continuing to develop what we consider one of the most important and effective CTE delivery systems in the U.S.

Dr. Robert Sommers

ACTE Executive Director Search

We understand that in a couple of months the ACTE Board will be selecting someone to fill the shoes of retiring Executive Director Jan Bray. Jan has been very supportive of our Oklahoma ACTE and we publicly want to thank her for the many years of service she has given to the promotion of CTE throughout this country and of course Oklahoma. She will be missed. A replacement for Jan must continue the positive relations ACTE has on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and at the same time operate a national association with a membership of over 25, 000 members. We personally feel that the person selected for this position should not only have CTE experience but also be someone who has either managed a state or national association preferably connected with education groups or causes. We trust that our national ACTE Board will keep this in mind as they move forward with this important selection.

Newly Elected ACTE Board Members

The end of 2012 and the start of 2013 has been chocked full of exciting announcements and elections involving our Oklahoma ACTE members. Most of these events have been around news of the election of many to the; ACTE Board, Region IV of ACTE, or being elected to lead their respective professional groups.

Here are some of these appointments and election results:

Dr. Doug Major, Meridian Tech-President-Elect of ACTE
Sherry Adrian, Francis Tuttle Tech-Recently elected VP of New and Related Services for ACTE.
Lorrie Carlile, Morrison HS-Region IV VP for ACTE
Gina Riggs, Kiamichi Tech-Health Division VP for ACTE
Jeff Johnson, Francis Tuttle Tech-VP for Trade and Industrial Division for ACTE
Claire Zevnik Cline, ODCTE-VP of New and Related Services
Jeanette Capshaw, Moore-Norman Tech-VP Administration for ACTE
Andrea Pogue, ODCTE- VP of PACE for ACTE
Cheryl Harder, OkACTE-President-Elect of the Oklahoma Society of Association Executives.
Kevin Stacey, South Coffeyville HS-President- Elect of the National Association of Agriculture Education Teachers
Jim Comer, Francis Tuttle Tech-Past President of ACTE
Diana Plummer, Central Tech- Named ACTE Outstanding Educator at Vision 2012 in Atlanta

All of these OkACTE members have volunteered to help all of their fellow CTE professional to promote the rewarding world of Career and Technology Education across America.

Coming Soon! – Oklahoma Legislative Update!

Patrick McGregor, OkACTE

Exercise Your Patriotic Right and Vote!

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 01:57:00 +0000

Starting this Friday, November 2 in almost all counties in Oklahoma, voters can vote “absentee” at their respective county election board offices from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. On November the 3rd citizens can vote early from 8 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the same County Election Board sites. Monday the 5th also allows for early absentee voting in the same locations and times as the previous Friday. Voters merely have to sign an affidavit declaring that they cannot vote on Tuesday the 6th for whatever reason, and the hassle of the often long wait on Election Day is avoided. My wife and I usually vote on Saturday morning in our county seat. It makes for a fun day and we enjoy exercising our patriotic right as American citizens. We both work so this avoids lines and leaving work early Tuesday in order to get our ballots cast. Large turnouts are expected nationwide for this year’s Presidential Election.

This year, Oklahoma voters will find a two sided ballot. The front side lists Presidential, Congressional, State legislative and county offices, along with the usual list of Supreme Court, criminal appeals and civil appeals court Judges to be retained in office. On the back side, are six state questions; 758, 759, 762, 764, 765, and 766. These questions all pertain to amending the state constitution. Two of the state questions, 758 and 766, have to do with lowering Ad Valorem property taxes for some, and increasing these taxes for others. As my good friend David Blatt, Director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute recently wrote, “In short, tax cuts that few will benefit from could lead to higher property tax bills for many others, while tightening the revenue squeeze on schools and other financially strapped local services. That’s far from a no‐lose proposition.” Since SQ 758 reduces the cap on the maximum annual tax valuation increases for homestead properties and agricultural land from 5% to 3%, it basically will only benefit those property owners in high growth or affluent neighborhoods. Meanwhile, everyone could end up paying higher millage rates to cover local bond issues payments and/or judgments against these taxing districts. These are the same growth areas whose schools are growing, roads are more heavily traveled, there is a greater need for healthcare, libraries, public safety, et al. You get the picture I think! This one creates neighbors with houses virtually the same age, size, neighborhoods etc., but they might be paying vastly different taxes depending on when they bought their individual homes and how much they paid.

SQ 766 is a real “boondoggle”! The real winners if this question passes will be centrally assessed large corporations who won’t have to pay taxes on their “intangible” property. These companies have been paying taxes on this property and passage of this proposal would give a large $60 to $100 million tax break for railroads, airlines, and communications (AT&T and Cox) and other public utilities (ONG, OG&E and PSO). This is not only a corporate gift, but is bad public tax policy! It gives to the rich and takes it away from common schools, community colleges, CareerTech Centers, and County government.

To summarize; I have studied these six state questions by talking with colleagues in politics and public policy experts like David Blatt and others. It is very simple. Vote NO on all state questions, except SQ 762 which removes the Governor from the parole process on certain nonviolent offenders. SQ 762 simplifies the process and saves money. Enough said!

Thanks for VOTING!

Patrick McGregor

CTE: Serving the Community

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 03:02:00 +0000

To me, one of the most telling attributes of successful people is their involvement in community service and their overall desires to help the greater good. I am always amazed at the exciting activities our CTE programs are involved in throughout the state of Oklahoma on behalf of their student organizations like FFA, FCCLA, Skills USA, HOSA, BPA, TSA and the like. In addition, each year our association, OkACTE, recognizes Outstanding Teachers in Community Service as a part of our Awards programs. The depth and breadth of the benefits of these activities to Oklahoma communities, their schools and of course their students are off the charts.

I was reminded of the inspiring examples of CTE professionals and students in our CTE programs throughout the state just recently as I witnessed the kickoff of several fall campaigns for “The United Way”, MDA and many other events raising awareness to the public, the importance of helping those less fortunate among us.

The end of the hot, dry summer in Oklahoma also led to some horrible fires in parts of central and northeastern areas of our state. As a result in towns like Stillwater, Noble, Drumright, and Mannford, many of our CTE members and friends lost homes, barns, livestock and countless personal items. I witnessed an overwhelming quick response from our CTE family to help each other in this natural disaster. The outpouring of support was tremendous, with many members and friends donating items, food, clothing and making thousands of dollars in donations to the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other non-profits. The spirit of Oklahoma people to help each other is something to behold.

Another example of the caring spirit of the Oklahoma CTE family was shown by an honor received by one of our outstanding FFA students at Checotah HS in eastern Oklahoma. Jason McPeak, Agricultural Education instructor at Checotah HS let us know that Ridge Howell, one of his student leaders, was recently named a “White House Champion of Change”. Ridge was recognized for his work in the National FFA program “Native Voices” which led to him being selected as a “Food for All’ grant recipient. This is the WHITE HOUSE we’re talking about! What a great honor for Mr. McPeak and his students at Checotah.

Our own Cheryl Harder who is the Assistant Director for OkACTE, is also a great example of making life a little better for all of us by her recent work with MDA in Oklahoma City. Below is her explanation of what this meant to her:

Community Service is something we all know that we should do, but many of us never take the time or find just the right venue. We many times find ourselves in the work to home to work rut.

Last week, I received a call from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I was asked to participate in their lock-up @ Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant in Bricktown OKC. All I had to do was ask some people to donate to MDA. It would be easy, would take little time, and it would mean so much to those in need. How could I refuse?

MDA has always been a favorite part of my Labor Day weekends for most of my life. I don’t think I ever missed watching a Telethon for Jerry’s kids. Since that no longer exists as I knew it, perhaps this was a way for me to do my part now.

With the help of my CareerTech, OSAE, and HOA families, I raised enough money to send a child with MD to summer camp and then some. I met people from other walks of life here in OKC, met a few people who have benefited by the research and things MDA has to offer and I feel like I have made a difference. It has been a positive experience and I look forward to helping again in the future!

In Rick Warren’s great book, “The Purpose Driven Life”, he asked the question, What on Earth Am I Here For? I think it is to help each other. He writes it is NOT about you! I find true inspiration in the examples demonstrated each day by our staff, students, and generous friends of CareerTech in Oklahoma. Do something kind for someone today. In doing so, you will have done something for yourself.

Patrick McGregor, Executive Director, Oklahoma ACTE

The Beginning: Oklahoma Technology Centers - A History You May Not Know

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:25:00 +0000

Below is a brief paper written by Suzette and Tom about the early history of the CareerTech system in Oklahoma as witnessed and researched by these two great Oklahoma CareerTech veterans.

Suzette Northcutt Rhodes is a current and founding board member of Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City, and the 2012-2013 President of the Oklahoma Association of Technology Centers(OATC), a sister organization of the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education(OkACTE).

Dr. Tom Friedemann is the current Superintendent of Francis Tuttle Technology Center and a past Associate State Director of the Oklahoma Department of CareerTech Education. He also serves currently as the Financial Officer of the CareerTech Administrative Council the corporate umbrella organization of OkACTE.

This article was presented as a part of their outstanding presentation at the annual Oklahoma State School Boards Convention recently held in Oklahoma City.

An excerpt from Governor Bartlett's State of the State Address to the Legislature on January 2, 1968:

VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL EDUCATION

I propose that you change the composition of the membership of the State Board for Vocational Education. This board would be composed of educators designated by law and businessmen and industrialists appointed by the Governor with advice and consent of the Senate. The purpose of the new board would be to direct the training of persons interested in vocational-technical study towards the needs of industry. The composition of this Board would add tremendously to the industrial development of the State of Oklahoma. A full explanation of the purposes and needs of this Board is contained in the LTV (LincTempcoVaught) report, copies of which have been furnished to each of you, and its functions would be patterned after the system inaugurated in South Carolina with which many of you are already familiar.

Prior to 1968, the members of the State Board of Education were designated as the State Board for Vocational Education, as well. All functions of vocational education in Oklahoma were governed ultimately by this board and the State Department of Education. The Department of Vocational Education was merely one of the many divisions in this large state department. Prior to 1963, there wasn't much money coming to the Department of Vocational Education so there weren't any real issues to be decided. J.B. Perky was such a strong personality that he maintained control of vocational education, but a change in the State Superintendent of Public Instruction or the State Director of Vocational Education could have changed the status and disrupted the truce between the different philosophies.

Governor Bartlett's recommendation to create an autonomous State Board of Vocational and Technical Education separated the governance of vocational education from the State Department of Education. This placed the decision-making about vocational education with board members committed to vocational education being advised by vocational educators and administrators. Vocational issues could not be diluted and confused with the issues of common education.

As with all legislative issues, the make-up of the new State Board of Vocational and Technical Education ended up being a compromise. It began with an eleven-member board mostly appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The final make-up of the State Board of Vocational and Technical Education consisted of the six members of the State Board of Education already appointed by the Governor, the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction designated as President of the Board and an additional six members appointed by the Governor it was not the board Governor Bartlett imagined.

Again, the most important thing the formation of new board did was allow vocational and technical education to have a department separate and apart from the State Department of Education. Few states have this separate structure for vocational education. Most states have vocational education in a mid-level role under either common education or higher education.

Dr. Tuttle provided the energy and the vision behind the creation of the area school concept and the change in the governance structure of vocational education in Oklahoma occurred on his watch.

NOTE: The State Board of and Technology Education that Governor Bartlett had imagined was in fact created in 2003 when the Legislature took Governor Bartlett's State of the State message to heart and changed the makeup of the Board.

The results of the 1969 Bond Issue championed by Governor Dewey Bartlett

State Question 462 passed on August 27, 1968

The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is hereby authorized to enact necessary legislation whereby the State may become indebted in an amount not to exceed Ninety-nine Million, Eight Hundred Eight Thousand Dollars ($99,808,000.00) for the purpose of planning and constructing new buildings or additions to existing state buildings and other capital improvements for remodeling, modernizing and repairing any and all existing buildings and capital improvements and purchase of land, equipment and furnishings necessary for such new construction or remodeling for the following departments and agencies of state government in the amounts and for the purposes set forth as follows:

10. To the State Department of Vocational Education for construction and equipping of area vocational and technical schools and technical institutes and equipment.$5,750,000.00

Presenters: Dr. Tom Friedemann, Superintendent , Francis Tuttle Technology CenterSuzette Northcutt Rhodes, President, Francis Tuttle Board of Education

The Beginning: Oklahoma Technology Centers History You May Not Know OSSBA/CAREER TECH FORUM - August 24, 2012

“We should never forget the sacrifices made by our past leaders as they laid the foundation for our world-renowned Oklahoma CareerTech system.”- Patrick McGregor

Facing the Social Media Beast in Relation to School Districts – Part Three

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 03:47:00 +0000

David Joplin
Marketing Communications Director
Moore Norman Technology Center

CTEMatters is proud to publish a series of articles on embracing social media in education by David Joplin. David is one of our shining stars in the Oklahoma CareerTech system, and has been one of the brains behind Oklahoma CareerTech's outstanding State wide Marketing program. This is the third installment in a three-part series that David is writing for us.

I ask you how many public relations professionals have ever been accused of providing too much publicity, coverage or promotion of our campuses, let alone individual classes? I would venture as to say, none. Therefore, the yearning to promote individual classroom successes overwhelmingly exists among our district employees and students. By coupling that need with the desire by our diverse audiences to have more timely school and class specific information, we saw the positives far outweighing the negatives.

As a result, our district concluded that we could not control social media, but that we could help contain it by empowering our employees to share our “good news” with audiences. Therefore, we established the means through which any employee to have his or her “sanctioned” social media account if they so chose.

This is reflected via the following:

Board approved, social-media policy for the district;
Approved individual classroom Facebook pages and Twitter accounts;
Individual account content NOT being pre-screened by district administrators or public relations representatives before it is posted;
Accounts highlighting specialized services provided by the district – i.e. employment advisement and counseling;
Open communication allowed between classroom instructors, parents and students via “sanctioned” accounts – Employees are NOT allowed to “friend” current students through their personal social media accounts, because there should be no need to communicate information not accessible by all through a “sanctioned” account;
Public opinion polls open to our audiences; and;
Students provided administrative “rights” to account content.

To establish and maintain a social media account, district employees must:

Register their account with district administration prior to establishing it;
Sign a “Content Agreement” form – the form is then placed in their Human Resources file;
Have any student account administrators sign an agreement form;
Grant their supervisors and our marketing communications office full-administrative rights to the account;
Understand they are responsible for the content that is posted on their accounts; and;
Realize school administrators can pull inappropriate content down after it’s posted if necessary.

Since starting this initiative in late FY10, our district has not experienced ANY public relations horror stories as a result of this approach to social media. Rather, by empowering our employees with a “voice” specific to their district focus, we have actually witnessed the start of a communication renaissance from our teachers.

From December 2011 to April 2012, our district has enjoyed:

Elimination of all known “rogue” accounts;
Establishment of 16 new employee or student administered accounts – with 10 more already in development for FY13;
Zero instances of needing to pull “inappropriate” content from individual accounts;
A 14.6% increase in “likes” 78.6% increase in “reach” and 77.6% increase in “engaged users” of our district-wide Facebook page; and;
A combined total of 1223 “likes” for all of our Facebook pages – many of which are “Unique Likes” – i.e. many “likes” for individual class pages are from end-users not interested in “liking” our district-wide page, but instead want to hear about specific classes and services.

Best of all, teachers are engaging audiences, sharing student successes and polling parents on classroom issues in real-time. This, in turn, has even helped our marketing communications department learn of new story ideas and classroom initiatives about which we might otherwise not know. We have even seen an increased interest in enrollment by potential future students through posted questions and comments about curriculum and classroom activities.

And, we fully believe that this is just the beginning.

My call to action for other districts is simple, face your communication fears and dive into the social media snake pit. Because if not, you will have no hope of “containing” today’s “snake” – i.e. potential communication misuses by district employees. Or even worse, your fears will likely create a new “beast” – i.e. “rogue” accounts – that is much more dangerous than the one you are afraid of now.

Wichita Business, Educators Could Learn from OKC Academy

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 02:53:00 +0000

Here is a portion of an interesting article about Francis Tuttle Technology Center (Gillespie, L. (2012, August 16). Wichita Business, Educators Could Learn from OKC Academy The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved August 19, 2012):

I recently visited one of the most outstanding high schools in our area and it left a profound impression on me.

Manufacturing engineers, industry managers and other company leaders do not get to see K-12 education in action, but I did. It's a program that Wichita business and educators could greatly benefit from.

Francis Tuttle Academy in Oklahoma City provides pre-engineering courses for students who study at their local high school for half a day and then attend Francis Tuttle’s rigorous math, science and engineering related classes. It gives them the academics for college and an understanding of engineering before they enter college.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ Education Foundation recently designated this school as one of its PRIME (Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education) schools because of its excellence. Students learn through project-based assignments (engineering problems) which include diagnostics, design, analysis, fabrication and testing. It is an unusual place because every one of the students when called upon could speak convincingly of what they were doing and why they enjoyed it.

They spoke like seasoned professional speakers – sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school with great speaking skills.

I saw a degreed engineer teaching some of these high school classes. I saw excitement, challenge, dedication and an atmosphere free from disruptions. I saw engineering tools (computing programs) used in the classroom. I saw students working individually as well as together, students learning electronic and automation skills and then applying them to extracurricular programs in robotic aircraft and other competitions.

But Francis Tuttle Tech Center is more than engineering. It is a true technical center. From....

Please read the article in it's entirety by clicking HERE.

Facing the Social Media Beast in Relation to School Districts – Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:42:00 +0000

David Joplin
Marketing Communications Director
Moore Norman Technology Center

CTEMatters is proud to publish a series of articles on embracing social media in education by David Joplin. David is one of our shining stars in the Oklahoma CareerTech system, and has been one of the brains behind Oklahoma CareerTech's outstanding State wide Marketing program. This is the second installment in a three-part series that David is writing for us.

The challenges all districts face typically revolve around communication and engagement. Generating support and investment from students, parents, tax payers, businesses and legislators are a struggle at some level for every district in America.

Therefore, it is not enough to simply have a district-wide Facebook page with sanitized content posted by the district’s public relations representative. The true power of social media begins with realizing that the audiences we are trying to reach often perceive that district-wide social media pages and accounts:

Only represent the “voices” of administrators – not those of students and teachers;
Have been likely “watered-down” by district policies and pre-posting, content screeners; and;
Don’t encourage them to provide school administrators their opinions related to public education – they aren’t given a “voice” to be heard.

Perhaps most importantly, they do not view the majority of district-wide content as relevant to them.

Rather, they frequently want to know what is happening at the local level:

“What did my child do in class today?”
“How are my tax dollars being used for classroom instruction?”
“What student successes can I tout to potential district detractors?”
“Why should I invest in my local school when I don’t have kids enrolled there?”

I promise, these questions are asked daily by someone within each of our districts. The desire to communicate at the “local level” exists whether you hear about it or not. It is so great, in fact, that if you don’t give a “voice” to your teachers and employees, they will take matters into their own hands.

In 2008, my department conducted a social media audit and found that in addition to our district-wide Facebook page and Twitter feed, the district also had over thirty “rogue” accounts established by employees in the district’s name. While the intent was most often good, the execution was abominable.

Virtually every “unsanctioned” account had:

Misspelled words and typos;
Misinformation;
Misuse of district logos and other style element violations; and;
Stagnant, often irrelevant content.

And, although the accounts were not “sanctioned” by the district, in the minds of end users, they still “spoke” for the district. Resulting in very real credibility and integrity issues for our district’s reputation and how we were perceived.

However, rather than “hunker-down” into defensive mode and try to shut-down these accounts, we looked past our initial fears and discovered an opportunity to advance our district’s communication efforts in a way we had never been able to before.

Submitted by:

David Joplin, APR, M.A.

Marketing Communications Director

Moore Norman Technology Center – Moore, Norman and South Oklahoma City

Facing the Social Media Beast in Relation to School Districts – Part One

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 04:30:00 +0000

David Joplin
Marketing Communications Director
Moore Norman Technology Center

CTEMatters is proud to publish a series of articles on embracing social media in education by David Joplin. David is one of our shining stars in the Oklahoma CareerTech system, and has been one of the brains behind Oklahoma CareerTech's outstanding State wide Marketing program. Enjoy! . . . p.s. We plan to run a series of David's thoughts over the next several weeks . . . so tune in! Patrick McGregor

It’s a universal, primordial fear that we have as humans to be afraid of certain animals or insects. Spiders, bats and sharks are all popular entries on the human fear factor list.

For me it’s snakes. Unlike Indiana Jones, I’ve never been attacked by a snake on a circus train, nor had to descend into an Egyptian crypt filled with “very dangerous” asps. In fact, the only encounters I’ve had with them include:

Watching them on the other side of the glass at the zoo;
Squished on the highway; and;
One time while mowing my backyard – It was a small baby snake that seemed extremely “uninterested” in me and more irritated that it had to stop and maneuver its way around my mower as it continued slithering to the field behind my house.

And yet, I’m terrified of the elongated beasts. Why?

I’d like to think it’s because of my Southern Baptist upbringing that taught me there was a reason why Satan chose the serpentine form to tempt Eve. That way I’d be able to rationalize that I’m just being devout and am a faithful follower…But, that’s not the case.

The truth is, I’m afraid of them because they are unpredictable. They move, look and smell differently than humans, and, for that matter, most mammals and even other reptiles. Plus, what we are told of them repeatedly is that they are often poisonous and deadly.

In other words, snakes are unfamiliar…and can be VERY dangerous; which is similar to how most school districts view social media.

Just within the last two years, school board members and administrators have heard social media horror stories that have included:

A mom in Chicago suing a district for Facebook pictures posted of her daughter by a teacher that showed the student with candy attached at the end of her braids;
A Superintendent in Oklahoma suing an in-district parent for her Facebook comments questioning his management of district funds; and;
A New York City teacher being fired for flirting with underage students that he had “friended” on Facebook via his personal account.

District leaders are understandably concerned. The fear of possible communication abuses by school employees via social media has been profound enough for many districts to ban the use of Facebook and Twitter all together. In essence, they are terrified of social media because they view it as a beast that they do not understand, and most certainly, can’t control. And they are right.

But, like Indiana Jones, it’s what districts choose to DO in the face of that fear which is important. Indy could have easily succumbed to his fears and refused to lower himself into the Pharaoh’s tomb. But, he understood that the potential knowledge mankind would gain by discovering the lost ark outweighed his own childhood trauma.

Don’t get me wrong, I do recognize there has been progress made in relation to the use of social media by school districts over the past few years. A growing number have at least established a district Facebook page or Twitter account and are using them to “push-out” announcements, student successes and tell their educational stories from a global perspective.

However, that is the metaphoric equivalent of Indy simply lowering himself to about five feet from the floor of the tomb and using his torch to take a cursory look around the expansive structure. This approach would have only been able to see the worst (poisonous snakes) and not discover the best (the ark) the tomb contained.

Rather than simply acknowledge social media and use it as a virtual bulletin board, school districts must dive into the danger-infested environment and realize that the medium is actually a blessing in disguise, but only if embraced for what it is: A powerful tool to truly personalize a district’s voice and provide relevant content to diverse audiences.

Submitted by:

David Joplin, APR, M.A.

Marketing Communications Director

Moore Norman Technology Center – Moore, Norman and South Oklahoma City

Happy Summer to All My CTE Friends in Oklahoma and Around the Country!

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:21:00 +0000

I just wanted to take a moment and tell you about my recent family trip to Northeast Oklahoma and particularly the Grand Lake Region. About 15 or so of the McGregors and the Hills invaded the WorldMark Resort on Grand Lake in late June for a week long family get together. It was a Grand time! heh heh! I like puns…. The lake was beautiful and the weather was hot but clear. We got to experience boating and tubing and water crafting all around Monkey Island, Honey Creek and the Shangri La Marina area. We had a blast! We rented boats from Island Rentals on Monkey Island and their staff was so very friendly and helpful to our crew. I know this sounds like a family postcard, but I have a method to my madness.

This trip reminded me just how special Oklahoma and its places and people can be. Some of our family that visited were from the Northwestern part of the country and they were amazed at first of all the heat, but after they acclimated, they were blown away by the friendliness of the people, the relaxed attitudes of the workers at the marinas, the restaurants, the resorts, etc. Generally just the niceness of Oklahoma people in this part of the state made Grand Lake and northeast Oklahoma a wonderful vacation spot for all. It made me proud to be from Oklahoma and to enjoy the warm, caring nature of our wonderful citizens.

The last night we were at the resort my wife and I took a walk at sunset on the lake. I took the picture above with my cell phone.

Facts Matter: Lessons from the Great Tax and Budget Debate of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 03:59:00 +0000

Here is an article written by David Blatt on the OK Policy Blog that we wanted to share with you:

Earlier this year, OK Policy was hosting a briefing in Oklahoma City about the ongoing battle over taxes and the state budget. During the question period, a woman in the audience rose with a question that went something like this:

Your arguments are all well and good. But how can you even try to persuade these legislators who are dead set on destroying government? These people won’t be happy until they’ve wrecked our tax system, wiped out public education, dismantled Medicaid and the safety net, and achieved Grover Norquist’s goal of shrinking government to the size where you can drown it in the bathtub.

My response was that there are unquestionably some elected officials in Oklahoma on a mission to dismantle government. They make a lot of noise and have some rather well-funded forces behind them crafting and amplifying their message. Yet this faction of hard-core ideologues that sees government as the enemy is largely a minority making life miserable for the larger group of moderates who hold power. Read the rest of this article »

Dr. Phil Berkenbile Announces Retirement from the Oklahoma Department of CareerTech

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 03:29:00 +0000

Dr. Phil Berkenbile recently announced his intent to retire from his position as State Director of CareerTech on or about the first of January of 2013. Phil has been a personal friend and a tremendous supporter of OkACTE and ACTE, as well as being recognized nationally for his leadership in Career and Technical Education and for advocating the need for governments, both state and national, to increase funding and support of better workforce training and retraining through CTE. It has been a tremendous honor to work with Phil over the years and he will be missed. He plans to work closely with the State Board of CareerTech to find a suitable replacement to carry on the hard work and innovation brought to CareerTech in Oklahoma during Phil’s tenure as State Director.

To read more http://www.stwnewspress.com/local/x1647298290/CareerTech-head-Berkenbile-to-retire .

53rd Oklahoma Legislature Adjourns

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Thu, 31 May 2012 02:12:00 +0000

The second session of the 53^rd Oklahoma Legislature adjourned on May 25^th after four months of extraneous and tedious activity but not much in the way of quality policy-making. Those of us who work in the business of lobbying the legislators and the Governor’s office were all glad the session was over last week. We were frustrated with the process, the behavior of many legislators and their respective leaders, and the strong influence of state and regional politics. Making good public policy, funding core services, and fine tuning our states laws to benefit citizens is a tough task in a normal year, but in an election year it becomes next to impossible. Law-making will never separate itself from politics because politicians are elected to be the designers of state statutes and examiners of our constitution. When they cannot come to consensus on the language and intent of these statutes in our state law, (this happens often!) the Oklahoma legislature will quickly choose to pass Joint Resolutions calling for amendments to our Constitution by taking these to a vote of the people in the upcoming general election in November. In this election year the general ballot will have 12 or more state questions; many will be difficult for the Oklahoma voters to understand because of the complexity of the changes in our constitution and the resultant effect on the everyday lives of our citizens.

This is the process of a democratic society and for the common ordinary Oklahoma voter it is difficult to imagine how complex law-making and governing is unless you’re inside the ugliness of the political process and the inner-workings of the executive and legislative branches of our state. When our voters are unhappy with the process and/or the results, and the people elected to represent them fail in their eyes there is only one thing to do. Change the participants! The way you change the participants is through the election process. Simply VOTE! This election year many local seats are wide-open due to the effects of term limits or by some members just opting not to run. Now is the time to elect the officials we want to run our national, state, and county governments.

OkACTE will be posting on our web site www.okacte.org over the next couple of weeks, GET OUT THE VOTE! Information and links to websites which will help our members become registered to vote, list dates of the primaries, runoffs, and general elections, and candidate information. Your OkACTE leaders will be interviewing candidates, attending candidate forums and fund-raisers in order to seek out those prospects as a member of the State legislature or the U.S. Congress who we think will support CTE. The first opportunity for you to vote will be June 23^rd as most Oklahoma voting precincts will be holding the 2012 primary elections. You can find out about polling places, early voting, and candidate information at the Oklahoma State Election Board website: www.ok.gov/elections. You can also find about more about the candidates at the State Ethics Commission website: www.ok.gove/ethics/public/cand-list.html. Hint: look under candidate committees to see who does and does not donate to the various campaigns. This can tell you a lot about the issues these candidates will be working on and who will influence their votes! Have a great summer and don’t forget to VOTE.

Patrick McGregor, Executive Director, OkACTE.

2012 ACTE Region IV Conference

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:26:00 +0000

TOY Athena Frank & Region IV VP Lorri Carlisle

It was a great week in the “Land of Enchantment”, Albuquerque, New Mexico, at our six -state Region IV conference last week. Oklahoma CTE professionals won 3 of the 5 awards presented in the awards competition! Outstanding Teacher of the Year was Athena Frank of Central Technology Center in Drumright, Outstanding Educator of the Year was Diana Plummer of the Sapulpa Campus of Central Tech, and Outstanding Teacher in Community Service was LoAnn Latona of Durant High School. Also representing Oklahoma was OkACTE’s nominee for Outstanding New Teacher, Katrina Lewis of Allen High School. In addition to these great results for our Oklahoma CTE professionals, the conference was presided over by Oklahoma’s own, Lorri Carlisle, ACTE Region IV Vice President and a Family and Consumer Science teacher from Morrison, OK.

OTCS LoAnn Latona & Region IV VP Lorri Carlisle

EOY Diana Plummer & Region IV VP Lorri Carlisle

Special dignitaries at the conference included the current National President of ACTE, Jim Comer from Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Edmond Oklahoma, and Doug Major from Meridian Technology Center in Stillwater. Dr. Major is ACTE President-Elect. Also in attendance were OkACTE’s current President, Molly Kyler, from Pioneer Tech in Ponca City and our President-Elect, Sherry Adrian from Francis Tuttle. Over 300 CTE professionals from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico attended the annual event which will be held next year in the shining star of the southern plains, Oklahoma City. The winners from the awards competition at Region IV will now compete for national titles at ACTE’s Vision 2012, and International Summit in Atlanta, GA November 29 – December 1.

Patrick McGregor, Executive Director, OkACTE.

Oklahoma Legislative Update

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:13:00 +0000

This was a Great week for Oklahoma ACTE at the state capitol in Oklahoma City. As usual we had several groups at the Capitol this week including about 200 CTE teachers, board members and Administrators for our annual OkACTE Legislative Day on March 28. I was really impressed with the work that the BPA student leaders did on their day at the capitol, March 27, as they were very impressive in meeting and communicating with the legislators and other policy makers. By their direct contact with the policy makers they spread the word about the quality and character of students that make up the students and customers involved in our state’s systems of Career and Technology Education. If the future of our state is in the hands of these young people we are all looking at a bright future for tomorrow’s business leaders in Oklahoma.

We met with our Legislative Day recipients on Wednesday and after hearing from some good friends in the state legislature, Sens. John Ford from Bartlesville and Sean Burrage from Claremore, Reps. Dale DeWitt from Braman and Scott Inman from Del City, we prepped our participants with a short briefing of topics important to CTE to this point in the session.

We asked our participants to lobby the legislators on the following major topics: Budget needs of the entire CTE system; shortfalls in funding in the current fiscal year; impending legislation that if passed could have a negative effect on our local school funds; and legislation that is still alive that will benefit our students, agency and our schools. The group then spent the day meeting with their respective representatives and senators and having lunch with those who were available. These one on one meetings were very effective in advocating for CTE as we approach important legislative deadlines not only in general legislation, but also in the important budget-making process.

The actions of the policy makers over the next several weeks are going to be predicated by final votes on several bills involving changes in the state’s income tax rate being considered by both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature and Governor Mary Fallin. It appears that the policy makers are steering several options for rolling-back or eliminating the state income tax to joint conference in which one measure will emerge that can receive enough votes to pass both chambers. Obviously, we all hope that it will be revenue neutral and not result in budget cuts to core state agencies and services. At the current time these various measure blow large holes in the state’s general revenue and will require elimination of many tax exemptions and/or budget cuts in order to work. Our thinking is that in the end a small income tax reduction will be passed and that most of the current tax exemptions and credits will survive. It does appear that exemptions like earned income credit, child care tax credit and possibly the standard deductions could be in jeopardy. This would of course mean that some Oklahomans could actually experience tax increases not tax cuts. Seems like a bad political move for the legislators in an election year to me. Hopefully compromise and common sense will come into play. Sorry just dreaming and wishing for a second.

Patrick McGregor

Executive Director, OkACTE

Oklahoma Legislative Update

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 19:14:00 +0000

This past week of the Oklahoma legislature was chocked full of tense committee meetings and quick floor sessions as the legislative leaders tried to move bills as quick as possible through the legislative process as they were up against committee deadlines for introduced and carry over bills. Some bills we were tracking included; income tax reform measures, math credit requirements for H.S. graduates, Ad Valorem tax reimbursement changes, retirement rule changes, payroll reduction changes for members of employee associations, etc.

You may have noted that I didn’t mention anything about budget discussions as those shell bills are quietly being positioned for use later on in the session. There was some good news about the state’s revenue collections this week though, as the state equalization board approved approximately $6.5 billion available for the legislators to appropriate to state agencies, schools and other government entities. This is an increase of about $47 million from last year and it appears that the Oklahoma coffers will continue to rise slightly in comparison to other parts of the nation that are still experiencing more unemployment and stagnant local economic growth due to the recovery of our nation’s economic recession of 2008-2010. Governor Fallin was quick to announce that this will be more the reason to continue with the aggressive income tax elimination plans that are making their way through the legislative process this session. New information is being brought to the public lately that is revealing that most of these plans will not be revenue neutral and will cause a large reduction in the state’s general revenue in the first several years of these changes if they are passed as they are now written. The Governor’s plan is due to roll out in a bill next week sponsored by the House Speaker Kris Steele. Other income tax elimination plans can be found in; House Bill 3038, Senate Bills 1571 and 1623. We are learning that some of these bills will be difficult to pass as they will eliminate many tax credits and deductions that are near and dear to many tax filers and could result in actual tax increase for many. My guess is that a more reasonable plan will soon surface. Rolling back the tax rate in this, an already low tax base state is a little easier said than done without permanently damaging the state’s ability to provide for good schools, health and human services, public safety and a strong transportation network. I would rather see the legislators return some of the cuts that have occurred over the past several years to CTE, High Education and the Common Schools before acting on these politically motivated issues. Just my opinion.

Patrick McGregor, OkACTE.

How Oklahoma is Falling Behind

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:13:00 +0000

I found a post on the OK Policy Blog that I wanted to share with you entitled, "How Oklahoma is Falling Behind:"

Even as the economy recovers, it’s become increasingly apparent that there is no end in sight to Oklahoma’s budget woes. Oklahoma has seen three straight years of budget cuts, and according to one House leader, we may be in for a fourth. At best, this year’s budget will stay flat, which means we can accomplish less due to inflation, reductions in federal assistance, and continued deterioration of equipment and infrastructure that we can’t afford to fix. It also means the damage caused by previous cuts will continue unchecked.

(Click HERE to read the post in its entirety)

NASDCTEc Legislative Update - February 13 to February 17, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 06:22:00 +0000

Policy and Legislation News

House Member Highlights CTE in Floor Speech

Rep. Jim Langevin (RI), co-chair of the Congressional CTE Caucus, took to the floor of the House yesterday morning to shine a spotlight on CTE and its effectiveness in his state of Rhode Island. National Grid, the primary utility in his state, and the Community College of Rhode Island have come together to offer a program that allows students to earn a certificate in energy utility technology and gives them the opportunity to become new employees.

Mr. Langevin also called on his fellow members of Congress to support the President's Community College to Career Fund, which would invest $8 billion over three years to advance partnerships between community colleges and businesses, such as National Grid.

NASDCTEc was pleased this week to have Mr. Langevin author a guest blog on the importance of CTE.

House Holds ESEA Hearing

Yesterday the House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing on two recently introduced pieces of ESEA reauthorization legislation, the Student Success Act and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act. Chairman John Kline (MN) stated in his opening remarks that these bills provide flexibility to States and districts around teacher evaluation systems, standards, and assessments. Ranking Member George Miller (CA), however, warned that Congress should not promote flexibility at the expense of accountability and that legislation must lead to better outcomes for students.

Rep. Tom Petri (WI) remarked that there are many unemployed individuals in Wisconsin, but that there are also many employers looking to fill jobs - good paying, middle class jobs - due to the mismatch between preparation students are getting and the changing job market. He warned that we need address this skills gap or "we are going to be in a world of trouble." Mr. Petri wanted to know whether these two pieces of legislation would advance the collaborative efforts being made by states and businesses, such as through the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, to prepare young people for the modern world of work, or whether they would create barriers to these efforts. Tom Luna, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction, said that while the federal government's role is be to hold states accountable, there needs to be sufficient flexibility because while the problems like those described by Mr. Petri are the same in many states, the solutions are not the same.

About NASDCTEc:

The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) was established in 1920 to represent the state and territory heads of secondary, postsecondary and adult career technical education (CTE) across the nation. NASDCTEc, through leadership, advocacy and partnerships, aims to support an innovative CTE system that prepares individuals to succeed in education and their careers, and poises the United States to flourish in a global dynamic economy.

Revised Estimate of Oklahoma Tax Revenue Shows Rise in Economy

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:56:00 +0000

Lawmakers will have nearly $50 million more to appropriate this year because of increases in sales tax and income tax collections, but low natural gas prices are a concern.

BY MICHAEL MCNUTT mmcnutt@opubco.com

Published: February 17, 2012

Legislators will have nearly $50 million more to appropriate this year than originally estimated because of increased income tax and sales tax collections, according to figures approved Thursday by the state Tax Commission.

The better-than-expected revenues should cut in half a projected budget hole of about $100 million for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The Tax Commission certified revised estimates that show an overall increase in state revenue of $54.3 million for the upcoming fiscal year since the commission made its original projections in December. About 80 percent of that, or $43.4 million, is expected to be deposited in the state's general revenue fund, the main source of state funding.

The increased sales tax collections, which are coming in about 9 percent above estimates, and income tax receipts offset lowering the expectations for gross production taxes on natural gas because of plummeting prices. The state also will have to pay nearly twice what it expected to reimburse oil companies for a suspended rebate program on oil production because of increased drilling.

Anticipated revenue from gross production taxes on natural gas was cut by about $86.9 million since the December estimate. Natural gas was estimated in December to bring in $267.3 million.

“We're an energy state,” Reece Womack, the Tax Commission's economist who prepared the estimate, told commissioners. “That makes our revenue stream volatile because energy is volatile.”

The Tax Commission certification of state revenue for the 2013 fiscal year is the deciding factor in determining how much money lawmakers will have available to spend this session. A state budget board made up of several elected officials will meet Tuesday and decide whether to accept the estimate.

The Tax Commission in December estimated lawmakers would have about $6.5 billion to appropriate this session. About $5.4 billion is from the general fund.

2013 budget

Gov. Mary Fallin used the December estimate to prepare her budget that she presented last week to legislators; lawmakers will use the amount approved Tuesday to craft the 2013 fiscal year budget.

“It just is a clear indication that our economy in Oklahoma is still going in the right direction,” said Rep. Earl Sears, chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriations and Budget Committee. “But unfortunately it's just not going as fast and as high a number (as) we would like.

(Original article appears on NewsOK.com)

Oklahoma Oil and Gas Tax Breaks Double Estimate

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:54:00 +0000

By Sean Murphy
Associated Press 
Posted: 05:28 PM Thursday, February 16, 2012

OKLAHOMA CITY – Promises made to the state’s oil and natural gas industry during a fiscal crisis two years ago will cost Oklahoma nearly twice as much as originally expected, leaving budget officials with $48 million less to work with in the upcoming fiscal year.

With corporate and income tax revenues projected to be up for fiscal 2013, along with sales taxes, Oklahoma should have expected a $91 million budget increase next year, according to the Tax Commission. Drilling-related tax breaks cut the amount to about $43 million.

Figures obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday show that Oklahoma must repay developers $294 million over the next three years, not $150 million as initially believed. Oklahoma temporarily suspended tax credits amid a fiscal crisis in 2010 and promised to repay them beginning this year.

“Prices are higher and more drilling has been done (than was projected),” Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, said before the numbers were formally released. “It’s good for the state. We’ve benefited more, but I think that number will be closer to $300 million now.”

As the state faced a fiscal crisis in 2010, legislators agreed to suspend, for two years, a number of drilling-related tax breaks in an effort to boost work in the oil and gas fields. Companies were asked to keep paying taxes but not claim tax breaks for which they were eligible. The bill comes due beginning July 1.

Oklahoma had planned to repay an expected $150 million over three years, but the amount will be $294 million, according to Oklahoma Tax Commission spokeswoman Paula Ross. Instead of paying $50 million annually to cover the debt, the state’s tab will be $98 million for each of the next three fiscal years.

Gov. Mary Fallin’s proposed budget for 2013 is $6.63 billion. Tax officials later this month are to certify how much money the state should have available to spend.

Last year, Oklahoma faced a $500 million shortfall and directed some agencies to cut their budgets by as much as 9 percent.

State revenues also could take a hit from depressed natural gas revenues, as prices are down.

(This Associated Press article appeared in the Journal Record)

Oklahoma Legislative Activity: Week 1 Summary

noreply@blogger.com (CTE Matters) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:36:00 +0000

The first week of the second session of the 53^rd legislature began on Feb 6^th, and the week was full of a flurry of activity for the legislators, their staffs and the lobbyists.

The Governor delivered her State of the State address on Monday to a joint session of the House and Senate and a television and internet audience. She was positive and a little more animated than many of us have seen her. She spent a lot of time in her speech talking about last year, but quickly moved to the topics all were interested in hearing about; her budget and her plan to reduce the state income tax.

Her budget was basically very simple to understand and easily put together. She simply added zero dollars to almost all of the major agency budgets and explained that this was going to be a flat budget year after the gradual recovery of the past several years of budget cuts. CareerTech’s budget calls for receiving the same appropriation as last year, $133, 742, 618 dollars. This is of course disappointing to all of us who represent one of the best CTE systems in the nation. We know we need at some point in time to recover the almost 15% cuts we absorbed over the last three years. The Governor explained that since the state had to use one time federal money and borrow money from cash accounts and other sources last year to balance our budget, those holes in the budget will have to be filled with the growth revenue that the state’s coffers have been enjoying over the past six months or more. We will know next week the actual amount of dollars that the legislators will have for appropriation to this year’s budget needs. Hopefully, we will not have to absorb any cuts this upcoming fiscal year. In the Governor’s budget plan she borrowed from cash accounts and purport s savings from efficiency enacted by the Governor and the legislature last year due to some of the “Government Modernization” efforts and other savings, in order to present a balanced budget for fiscal year 2013. She also stated that she would be asking the legislature to eliminate some tax credits and exemptions that would result in more savings for the state.

One of the main topics of the Governor’s address and the one that received the most applause was her plan to cut the state income tax and to eventually eliminate it all together. Her plan which will be carried in a bill filed by Speaker Steele, calls for cutting down the income tax brackets used by Oklahomans to calculate their state income taxes. She also is asking for the legislature to approve lowering tax rates for most Oklahomans in the 2013 tax year. More details of her plan can be found on the home page of the Governor’s web page at http://www.ok.gov/.

The Governor’s tax plan also calls for trigger effects in future years to allow even more cuts to the tax rate with the possibility that if Oklahoma’s economy were to continue to grow (5% or more) it would eliminate the income tax altogether. Many of us who work in support of the core services in Oklahoma are very worried that the loss of these revenue streams, which make up about 36% to 38% of the state’s general revenue, could create large budget shortfalls resulting in major cuts to education, human services, corrections, transportation, and et.al. We obviously are going to be heavily engaged in whatever tax plans are rolling through the legislature this session so that if needed we can prevent permanent losses of funds to the core services we try to protect. It also is very obvious to some of us that if you eliminate many tax deductions for hard-working Oklahomans like; child care tax credits, earned income credits and sales tax credits (as the Governor’s plan calls for), we could be looking at tax increases for many Oklahomans not tax decreases. It is important to mention here that there are dedicated funding streams that help education from the income tax revenue. Some of these important to us are; the teacher retirement system (5%), the Ad Valorem Reimbursement fund (1%), and the 1017 fund (8%). The Governor mentions these in her plan and does call for some additional appropriations to make up for the loss of some of these dollars, but mysteriously it is not enough to cover the total collections needed.

In the meantime the legislators are now working on some 2000+ bills they have filed for this year, and we will track those that affect CTE and our various partners and customers. My tracking list can be found on our web site at: http://www.okacte.org/ under legislative issues.