Arkansas legislators postpone education funding recommendation

(OK) Arkansas’ House and Senate education committees decided Tuesday to delay making a recommendation on future per-student funding for the state’s public school system.

            The committees, which met jointly Tuesday, adopted a report by the Joint Adequacy Evaluation Oversight Subcommittee that did not contain a recommendation concerning future education funding adjustments. The subcommittee voted Aug. 21 to recommend that the Legislature increase per-student funding by 2.5 percent for the 2011-12 school year and by 2.9 percent for the 2012-13 school year. On Monday, however, the subcommittee agreed to expunge the previous vote after several education committee members expressed concern that the panel had moved too quickly and that more information was needed before making a recommendation.

            According to a published report, the committees indicated they would arrive at a recommendation for the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee by Nov. 1.

            Whatever recommendation the committees make could impact Oklahoma if State Question 744 is approved by voters in November’s general election. If approved, the measure would tie Oklahoma's annual education budget to the regional average for per-pupil spending in the six bordering states, including Arkansas.

            According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Oklahoma's 2006-2007 per-pupil spending ranked 49th in the nation, last in the region.