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OU President Boren Proposes Sales Tax to Support Education

twitter.com/president_boren

OU President David Boren wants Oklahomans to vote on a $0.01 percent sales tax increase—that would be used to fund education.

NonDoc obtained emails from President Boren that show he is helping form a coalition of business and civic leaders in order to push a statewide initiative petition to propose the sales tax increase to voters. According to the emails, “It would raise approximately $615 million per year.”

William W. Savage III reports,

“…several high-profile Oklahomans have already committed to the coalition, though Boren himself said the group is still looking to identify a chairman or chairwoman to lead it. Boren emphasized he is not the chairman, though signs indicate he is very much spearheading organizing efforts.”

According to one of Boren’s emails:

“$378 million would be used to fund an increase of approximately $5,000 per year in teacher salaries to make us competitive. None would go for administrative expenses. An additional fund of $50 million would be used for grants for locally controlled reforms like incentive pay, including possible incentives for STEM and reading programs and teachers or a slight increase in classroom teaching time per year. $125 million would go to higher education to keep down tuition and fees. $50 million would go for vital early childhood programs and $12.5 million for the vo-tech system.”

On Thursday, Boren released an official statement:

“Oklahoma faces an education crisis and it is appropriate that the people of Oklahoma have the opportunity to help address it. The fairest way to confront this crisis is to let all of our people decide on this important issue. We must find a way to help our children and grandchildren and create a brighter future for our state. I am eager to be a part of an announcement and launch that will include a bi-partisan and broad-based coalition of Oklahomans.”

NonDoc reports that initiative petitions must have “ballot language” filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State and the Oklahoma Attorney General.

“The petition can be protested by members of the public, but once all legal requirements are met, the Secretary of State sets a date for the circulation of signatures. Petitioners then have 90 days from that date to collect the required number of signatures. For an initiative petition not requiring constitutional change, petitioners must gather signatures totaling 8 percent of the number of votes cast in the last general election.”

Because of State Question 640 that passed in 1992, any bill that seeks to raise taxes has to receive a supermajority support of three-fourths of both bodies in the Legislature. Or it can be placed on the ballot for a vote of the people. 

Emily Wendler was KOSU's education reporter from 2015 to 2019.
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