OU and Oklahoma State University presidents asked supporters of State Question 744 to take a commercial off the air.
According to the ballot language, State Question 744 would set the minimum average amount Oklahoma must annually spend on common schools to match the average spending of the surrounding states within three years.
Check out and read State Question 744 as proposed by citizens here.
Check out and read the ballot issues including State Question 744 here.
In a joint statement made by OU President David Boren and OSU President Burns Hargis, both argued the commercial should be removed because “very large tuition increases will be necessary if the State Question passes” and students might “believe that the universities are supporting the proposal.”
The ad shows families watching television — one wearing OU’s colors while the other is wearing OSU gear — get upset when their teams lose to Texas and Missouri, respectively.
Neither university authorized the use of their school logos for the ad or support the proposal, Boren and Hargis said in the statement.
“Passage of State Question 744 is likely to lead to multimillion dollar cuts in higher education and could force tuition and cost increases for our students and their families ranging from 15 to 20 percent per year for up to three years in a row,” Boren and Hargis said in the statement.
If the average amount spent on education by surrounding states declines, Oklahoma must spend the amount it spent the year before, the ballot language states.
“We strongly support improved funding for kindergarten through 12th grade education; however, State Question 744 provides no revenue sources to pay for its mandates,” Boren and Hargis said.
While the proposal will not raise taxes, without new revenue sources for the proposed amendment, other state services will be cut, they said.
State Question 744 is the only citizen initiative on the ballot in November and was initiated by the Oklahoma Education Association.
Against the proposal is the One Oklahoma Coalition, an umbrella non-profit organization made up of 65 organizations from Oklahoma including the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, The State Chamber of Oklahoma, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Oklahoma Hospital Association.
State Question 744 is one of 11 state question that will be on the Oklahoma ballot on Election Day, Nov. 2.
“We do not recommend how anyone should vote, but we feel a responsibility to inform Oklahomans about the impact of this proposal,” Boren and Hargis said.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report
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braceyourself 1 year, 8 months ago
"The ad shows families watching television — one wearing OU’s colors while the other is wearing OSU gear — get upset when their teams lose to Texas and Missouri, respectively."
Once again, it's all about football at OU. Sacrifice everything else for football.
grhm 1 year, 8 months ago
Wait a minute Boren and Hargis released their statement with state resources thats the problem. Oh and where is the problem with Sooners for Coburn, Askins, Fallin etc... Did I miss something. 744 isn't perfect but it does do one thing, it allows people to say where the money goes, not the corrupt and ignorant legislature. Sorry politicos Boren and Hargis, but if this means the legislature doesn't have money for special pork how is that a bad thing? Isn't common education the most important thing?
soonerboomers 1 year, 8 months ago
This is a fantastic initiative. Those who got it on the ballot ran an extremely impressive campaign. Go out and vote for this if you want to force Oklahoma to spend a reasonable amount of money on education of all kinds. Right now, it is bottom 5 in the nation, but the congress does not care because they are too worried about abortion shaming.
LLBean 1 year, 8 months ago
David Boren claims, somehow, that while he strongly supports higher funding for K to 12 in Oklahoma, he thinks or should I say uses the President's Office at OU (a state agency) to campaign/threaten against State Question 744. Don't be fooled by his oily arguments. The reason we do not have adequate funding not only for K-12 but for many other public services including OU is that we have a right-wing to far-right legislature that won't raise more funds to PAY for ALL of these services. Rather than casting stones at SQ 744, where is OU and OSU in the fight to ensure adequate funding for all state services including higher education? At the end of the day, Boren's argument offers no solutions and endorses lesser funding for Oklahoma school kids--a form of dark anti-intellectualism.
eleanor11 1 year, 8 months ago
Wait — how does the state question relate to the commercial? Way to fail at connecting the dots, Daily.