Brown: Don’t ignore dangers of education bill

Oklahoma City (May 5, 2009) State Capitol –  Democratic Floor Leader Mike Brown today encouraged all Oklahomans – including Gov. Henry – to reject SB834, a bill that would allow school districts to ignore state mandates for education.

“This bill is both frivolous and dangerous, and it allows small groups of people to gamble with our children’s education,” he stated.

“If the Republicans insist on greater ‘resource flexibility’ when it comes to class-size limits, hiring guidance counselors and librarians and paying teachers more than the minimum salary, then guess what’s going to happen.  We’ll have bigger classes, fewer guidance counselors, fewer librarians and shrinking teacher salaries,” said Rep. Brown, D-Tahlequah.

Though Republicans insist that several mandates that would be exempted from SB834, claims that the ones left over often constitute “unfunded mandates” and hamper communities’ ability to shape their education system are misleading.

“I’d like someone to tell me how requiring public input for changes in school board policies – which is one law SB834 would eliminate – constitutes an ‘unfunded mandate.’  To me, that’s simply ‘poor judgment,’” Rep. Brown added.

House Republicans recently claimed that it “defies common sense” to think that any school board would cut teacher pay if teacher contracts were eliminated.  Rep. Brown disagreed, and said teacher contracts are the only protection for teacher salaries.

“Some of the House Republicans’ recent comments show they desperately need a reality check,” he stated.  “They have reasoned that school boards have committed to paying teachers as much as possible.  Of course they have.  That’s what we call ‘teacher contracts.’  But without these contracts in place, school boards will certainly fall under tremendous political pressure to reduce teacher pay in tight budget years.

“We need to protect our teachers, not throw them under a big yellow school bus,” Rep. Brown added.  “The Republicans claim that the schools belong to our taxpayers and our children, not to our educators.  Well, then our taxpayers are more than welcome to experience a day in front of a public-school classroom without a teacher’s authority.

“I’m tired of the other side constantly putting down our teachers.  Now they’re trying to codify their put-downs into law, and I’m not going to stand for it,” he concluded.