Members of the State Board of Education approved their annual budget request to the Oklahoma Legislature on Thursday. Although board members were presented numbers as a $47.1 million “net decrease,” several funding increases totaling $112.9 million were actually part of the request—including new spending for maternity leave and off-formula teacher pay raises, school employees’ flexible benefit allowance, assessments and programs, information technology, infrastructure and more. Walters said the decrease came from the elimination of line items but specifics were not given.
When John Michael Montgomery resigned his Senate seat to lead the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce in early July, four prospective candidates—Elgin Mayor JJ Francais, Deevers Properties CEO and Grace Reformed Baptist Church pastor Dusty Deevers, Cosmetic Speciality Labs CEO and U.S. Army veteran Jennifer Ellis and retired ophthalmologist Dr. Jean Hausheer—began seeking theRepublican nomination for Senate District 32. With no runoff in special elections, the Republican candidate who finishes first in the special election on Oct. 10 will advance to the Dec. 12 general election and face the winner of the two-person Democratic primary.
If Congress does not approve legislation to keep the government operating past Saturday, thousands of federal workers in Oklahoma could be furloughed. If the shutdown persists, civilian workers and soldiers will miss paychecks, including 21,000 active-duty military troops at the state’s four major bases and ammunition plant. The government provides back pay to employees after a shutdown but can create hardships for the families of government employees.
