Budget & Finance

Close Vote Predicted on Okla. Tax-Rollback Plan

By Millicent Lawton — March 06, 1996 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A Super Tuesday squeaker is shaping up in Oklahoma next week, but it has nothing to do with the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

A close vote is expected on a March 12 ballot question that would substantially alter local school funding in the state. The proposal would roll back local property-tax rates to 1993 levels and place a ceiling on the percentage by which voters in a county could increase those taxes.

Many educators view State Question 669 as a potentially severe blow to the state’s public schools, which depend on local property taxes for about 20 percent of their budgets.

The drop in funding that the measure would cause would hit the state’s vocational-technical centers especially hard. The 53 regional centers receive about 65 percent of their funding from property taxes, officials said.

The rollback provision alone could drain about $7 million from the $200 million statewide budget for the centers, said Roy Peters, the state director of vocational-technical education.

“To lose that much in one fell swoop would be a big cut,” Mr. Peters said.

Proponents of the measure, however, see it as a chance for individual voters to wrest control of their tax rates away from politicians and government bureaucrats.

“This is going to put the power of taxation in the hands of the people,” said Scott Bulling, the director of governmental relations for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. That organization, which represents farmers and agribusiness interests, is part of a coalition supporting the measure called Oklahomans for Property Tax Reform.

Shades of California

Under the ballot proposal, a county could raise its property taxes if at least 60 percent of the qualified electors, voting in a biennial general election, authorized an increase. The increase could not be greater than 3 percent.

Sandy Garrett, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, said State Question 669 could having an effect similar to California’s Proposition 13, a sweeping measure passed in 1978 that limited property taxes in that state. Its passage left many California school districts in financial turmoil.

If the Oklahoma measure passes, some districts will have to make cutbacks sooner than others, Ms. Garrett said. “But most importantly,” she added, “it would be a long-term and cumulative effect.”

In 1992, Oklahomans approved State Question 640, which requires that any increase in state taxes must have either the approval of a 75 percent majority of the legislature, or a simple majority and then the subsequent approval of state voters.

SQ 669’s tax rollbacks would mean scarce funds for districts, and because of the 1992 law, the legislature would be hard pressed to pass state taxes to help them out, said Randall Raburn, the executive director of the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration, an umbrella organization for administrators’ groups. “The combination of the two will make it extremely difficult to cope.”

Opponents Plan Blitz

The vote margin promises to be slim. Polls have showed opponents of the proposal narrowing the wide lead once held by its supporters.

A coalition of 100 opposition groups, which include the Oklahoma Education Association and the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, has promised a blitzkrieg of advertising in the days leading up to the vote.

However, the measure could benefit because the election includes a Republican presidential primary. The state GOP executive committee has endorsed the tax-cut measure, although Republican Gov. Frank Keating has not taken sides.

“I think probably we’re in a dead heat right now,” Ms. Garrett said last week.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the March 06, 1996 edition of Education Week as Close Vote Predicted on Okla. Tax-Rollback Plan

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Budget & Finance 4 Financial Headaches Schools May Not Be Able to Avoid This Year
Hiring challenges, new and potentially expensive state laws, and intensive audits are on the horizon.
6 min read
Conceptual image in blue: puzzle-shaped 100 American dollar banknote and red-colored question mark symbol.
Liz Yap from Education Week via iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance Most Districts Say They Don't Need More Time to Spend ESSER Dollars
Only 13 percent of districts surveyed by ASBO International said they plan to seek approval to spend the federal aid past the deadline.
2 min read
Roll of dollar banknotes with colored pencils on the shelf.
iStock/Getty Images
Budget & Finance 2023 in School Finance: Legal Fights, School Choice Debates, Persistent Inequities
Highlights of the year in school finance coverage include school funding lawsuits, private school choice legislation, and the looming financial storms brewing.
6 min read
Conceptual illustration of business people, a roll of paper, and the people using computers, a magnifying glass and telescope with the year 2023 as a shadow below them.
Liz Yap/Education Week and iStock/ Getty.
Budget & Finance Bus Contracts: The Pros and Cons for School Districts Outsourcing Transportation
Districts see more predictable costs and get valuable expertise, but high costs send some back to an in-house model.
1 min read
Buses parked covered with snow
iStock/Getty