Where exactly does Gov. Frank Keating stand on education? He addressed it as one of his top priorities in last November's election, but his actions have not proven him to be as much of a friend to education as he led us to believe.

Keating isn't deliberately trying to bankrupt education. In fact, his intentions seem noble. He expresses concern about high school and college dropout rates and the overall quality of education. He wants colleges and universities to attract the brightest students from across the nation. But what has Keating actually done to improve education?

Keating boasts that he has increased funding for many different facets of education. It may seem generous that Keating has proposed $29 million in new funding for common education, vo-tech and higher education. However the State Department of Education estimates that almost twice that amount is needed to fund common education alone.

Oklahoma is now dead last in the nation when it comes to the amount that it spends per pupil. The lack of a financial commitment to education has led many schools, especially those in rural areas, to cut services. Schools use textbooks too outdated to be of much value to the students, and rapidly growing class sizes give students less interaction with their teachers. Even with the increased funding Keating has proposed, it still isn't enough to remedy the existing problems.

Keating agrees that there are flaws in Oklahoma's education system. He knows that the state's ACT scores are below the national average. He knows that 38 percent of Oklahoma high school graduates require remediation when they enter college.

Keating's only true plan for reform, however, is requiring four years of math, science, English and social studies in order to graduate high school. This plan would be administered and funded by individual school districts. How is this going to improve the quality of education in Oklahoma's schools? The funds to develop a new curriculum in each school district will not magically appear, so existing money will have to be redistributed. Instead of three years of bad math, students will now have four years of really bad math. Some improvement.

If Keating is committed to education, he should propose budgets that reflect this commitment rather than simply talking about improvement. If we took cable television away from a few prisoners or fought the urge to cut taxes for a few years, there would probably be more than enough money. Education is vital for the state as a whole to succeed economically, so we must demand increased support from our elected officials, especially our governor.

Amanda Shankle is a University College sophomore.
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