As part of our continuing coverage of this year’s state questions, we take a look at SQ 779.
Heavily pushed and promoted by OU President David Boren, SQ 779 will increase our state sales tax by a whopping 22%, and as a result, give each public school teacher a $5,000 per year raise so they can buy more school supplies for their classrooms.
Here’s the gist via The Oklahoma Policy Institute:
SQ 779 is a constitutional amendment that would raise the state sales and use tax by one percentage point. Of the total revenue generated by the new tax, 60 percent would go to providing a salary increase of at least $5,000 for every public school teacher. The remaining funds would be divided between public schools (9.5 percent), higher education (19.25 percent), career and technology education (3.25 percent), and early childhood education (8 percent). The State Board of Equalization would be required to certify that revenues from the new tax are not being used to supplant existing funds.
That’s neat. I think we can agree that all teachers, including the lady who showed up to school without any pants, deserve a pay raise. Here are 7 reasons to vote “Yes” for State Question 779.
1. You made $403,475 in 2014 as a board member for Continental Resources
If I was a board member for a prominent energy company, the last thing I’d want to see is Oklahoma – which has the lowest oil and gas production taxes of any energy producing state – raise taxes on energy production to help fund education. I also wouldn’t want to raise property or income taxes either, because that would disproportionately affect me and my friends with higher incomes.
I would, however, do whatever it takes to prevent those taxes from being raised. The best way to do this would be to present an alternative plan. For example, maybe I’d use my clout and influence to pitch a 22% increase in the state sales tax – you know, something that would disproportionately affect working families. I’d probably go all out, too, calling it “the only remaining hope” to “solve the education crisis.” Hell, I’d even try to find away to make sure my other interests get a slice of the pie.
You have to admit, it would be a pretty smart plan, especially if it became law. Then teachers would get a raise, I’d look like a hero, and considering I’d still make six-figures as a board member for Continental Resources, the plan wouldn’t have any noticeable financial impact on me or my wealthy friends.
But then again, that’s just what I would do. I’m sure David Boren would do the opposite.
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2. Oklahoma needs to be #1 in something. It might as well be in “Highest State Sales Tax.”
If voters pass SQ 779, Oklahoma will have the highest state sales tax rate in the country. That may suck when you buy groceries or clothes, but considering we haven’t been at the top of any list since Arkansas passed us for the top spot in teen pregnancy rate, I’ll take it. It will be nice to finally be “Number One” in something again.
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3. You value the opinion of a man who wrote such classics as “Beer For My Horses,” “Trailerhood” and “Get Drunk And Be Somebody.”
Yikes. How many red Solo cups of beer did Toby Keith chugged before filming that spot? He can barely stand up and keep his eyes open. I bet they tricked him into thinking it was a commercials for SQ 792.
Seriously, is a drunk cowboy the best spokesperson they can find for a campaign to fund education? They must be going hard after the coveted illiterate redneck demographic.
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4. Screw MAPS
Since SQ 779 will raise Oklahoma’s sales taxes to record levels, it will make it very challenging for cities and municipalities to raise sales taxes to fund public improvement projects like MAPS. It’s one reason why the Oklahoma Municipal League has come out strongly against SQ 779.
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5. You believe that “A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned” is total hogwash
It’s only a penny, right?
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6. You don’t want the Oklahoma Legislature to do anymore damage.
In a normal, functional state, determining a fair, equitable and practical plan to raise funds for education would be the job of the legislature. That would be a nightmare in Oklahoma. They would probably just try to privatize all public schools and mandate the Bible become the only science textbook. It sucks, but education is an issue better left out of their meddling hands.
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7. You’ve given up all hope
Overall, I’m still undecided on SQ 779. I think it’s good-hearted, but extremely flawed. Although I’m for an increase in education funding, there just has to be a better way to get it done. I’d encourage teachers, parents, educators, and even students to hunker down, hold lawmakers accountable, and aggressively fight for a plan that is not only good for our teachers and students, but good for our state. I don’t think a regressive tax that disproportionately affects the same people it’s supposed to help does that.
Of course, I’m not a teacher. I don’t have kids. The education funding crisis really doesn’t impact me all that much. If you’ve given up all hope and are okay taking a deal offered by a wealthy board member for an energy company, I understand. Vote Yes and get teachers a raise. Just remember. You’ll be sticking it to the little man.
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Wondering about SQ 777? Here are 7 Reasons to Vote Yes.
Whatever happened giving the revenue money from the lottery to education? I read that 35% goes to schools – what about the other 65%?
Get out everybody while you still can. Your driver’s license doesn’t meet federal requirements.
They’re trying to keep you here and tax you to death.
The lottery money that was promised has been going to education, but our legislators have made so many cuts to other funding for education that it didn’t add up to anything extra. I don’t know about the other 65%, but I’m guessing it goes to running and funding the lottery itself.
That’s what concerns me about 779.
I know it contains language designed to prevent cuts to other appropriations but where there is a will there is a way and those goofs at the capital certainly are willing to cut education spending.
It’s been proven over and over that we can’t trust our Legislators to keep state funding at it’s current or higher levels. They’d steal this money.
Thanks for the many valid reasons to vote against the tax. I’m voting no, not because I’m against teachers or a normal level of funding for public education, but voting no means there will only be one or two more years of Republicans screwing over the next generation. Once they succeed in the next two legislative sessions in starving our Oklahoma government and proving they don’t know how to run a budget, voters will be panting at the ballot box to say, “Fuck you, assholes!”
Good luck with that. The Oklahoma Dems spent the last 8 yrs running away from Obama, they’ll spend the next 4 running away from Clinton. Registered Republicans have surpassed Dems (a large portion of Dems vote (R) anyway) and the gap is is doing nothing but growing, especially if Hillary Clinton is elected.
As a former teacher, I can say that yes, teachers need & deserve more $, but this is the wrong way to do it. Once again, the nutless legislature is dodging a tough vote by passing it off to the initiative petition. A sales tax hurts those who can least afford it. If I knew it was going for teacher raises, I’d take an income tax increase, honestly, I could afford that. Quit arguing about what 10 Commandments monument you’re going to put up and do your job. I’ll be voting no.
I agree. I do believe we need to have improvements to our schools and our teachers’ salaries. However, I am concerned as to how much is going to higher ed, when there have been reports about how much money they already receive. I would rather all of the tax go to K-12 teachers and schools and tech schools.
I work at a tech center. The teachers are VERY well compensated. In fact workplace survey results have always shown they think they are well compensated. Well the last survey, conducted after all this poor, poor teacher talk, yielded more dissatisfaction with their compensation rate…yet there has been no reduction in compensation. A lot of this is perspective. After all, paying the teachers more does not put more money into students’ classrooms.
It’s really more about divisiveness: teachers are more special than other professions so they should make more, police are more special than other professions so they should make more, corrections officers are more special than other professions so they should make more, and on and on.
If you guys knew how well paid (salary and benefits for 9 months of employment) these teachers are, you would literally flip your lids.
I know several teachers, the pay they made was terrible, a portion of it went back into the classroom as they had to buy supplies for school, most everyone had jobs in the summer, either with the district or with private tutoring, and the hours, and the hours they work during those nine months are very long.
And while paying the teachers more won’t necessarily put more in student classrooms, it will help contribute to having better teachers in the classroom, which is something Republicans claim to give a crap about when talking about education reform.
I’ve got to agree. Higher Education? While Boren lives in a mansion and probably makes more than the Governor? OU and OSU are Taj Majal’s…do we need to pour more money into that? How about all of those liberal Tenured Prof.’s? We need to get rid of those Mansions for Boren and the rest and give some money to the poor teachers that are struggling. If Boren moved into HIS residence I might consider a small tax increase…..might.
As a fan of this website it is very disappointing to read this article. I’m a teacher and I get that the bill isn’t perfect. Neither is the alcohol law. However, if you sit around and wait for the bill to be perfect you’re going to be waiting a long time while our education system continues to fail and quality teachers continue to leave the state in droves.
So you are ok with paying your own raise? Sales taxes are a regressive tax meaning that the poor and powerhouse class pay the highest rate because they spend the highest percentage of income on necessities. Therefore, you are paying a larger percentage of your own raise. This is a terrible bill, it makes you like you’re getting something when you aren’t. I’m also a teacher and I vote NO! The legislature has decided that the only people worth taxing are poor! The only reason David Boren is for it is because higher ed gets a cut. These bills also don’t seem generate as much because people adjust their spending per what they can afford. There needs to be more thought put into these bills.
“So you are ok with paying your own raise?” Lol, I kept wondering why none of the teachers have made this observation! And I stand by what I said above: Higher Ed & Career Tech teachers do not need a raise. K-12 teachers may, but so do most state employees.
Meanwhile, I’ll be paying 11.5% sales tax on my baby formula and diapers
Sometimes you miss the mark, other times you nail it dead on. While I understand the pain and frustration of the schoolteachers, it dumbfounds me that the Dems are letting the GOP off the hook by doing their dirty work. There is nothing dishonorable about taxing incomes to fund government. Those who clamor for this bill should be ashamed that they were not willing to stand up for the poor.
How do you want to stand up for the poor? Give them a small stipend to put towards a private, charter, or religious school with their funding? Take away their educational opportunity so their kids will be at an even greater class disadvantage? Have their cigarettes double in price and receive nothing in exchange for the tax increase? The Dems have no power to increase the income tax, let alone make that increase fund education instead of frivolous lawsuits and other pet projects. We have enough naysayers and parties of “NO.” Time for a compromise and a solution.
How is increasing a regressive tax standing up for the poor?
+1
Having other ideas and being uncompromising has gotten us to this point: a dysfunctional State and National Government with terrible options for our next President. Oklahoma municipalities ONLY make tax revenue with sales taxes, so we should be #1, especially as we cut other state taxes. MAPS is ending in a year and taxes in OKC will be the same as they are now. There is no consensus for what another MAPS would even be for, so their opposition on the basis that they want that same tax money for themselves isn’t convincing. Everyone agrees that something needs to be done and that being dead last in teacher pay is unacceptable, but to wait for the legislature to address it when they have shot down any suggestions and failed to produce any other plans is foolish. I’m voting Yes, because it’s better than the alternative; less teachers, less education, and more MAPS keeping the OKC sales tax in 2018 the same as it is today.
This is a state-wide tax and will impact people that live outside OKC.
Just addressing one of the 7 points in the article, the MAPS opposition, which is similar to other parts of the state that worry they will not be able to increase their taxes for special causes if this special cause increases the tax. You are right that it will impact all students, families, and future workers in the state. The legislature has been clear that teacher pay is not their priority.
“Other parts of the state” aren’t concerned with “special causes” like a street car line or a central park. They need these tax dollars for little things like police and fire, water, and roads.
Your argument is “this new tax would make it too expensive to add a new tax?”
No, You’ll be getting that tax on top of a new tax.
Hope you’re ready for a 99 cent cheeseburger to cost 1.81$
Their argument is the tax wonky be renewed because voters will think it’s too high. I’m hoping instead that fairly compensated teachers will help cheeseburger sellers understand that an 11.5% tax would only add 11.5 cents to a one dollar purchase, not 82%.
Colleges get 19.25? Well it never enough, they’ll still raise tuitions.
Yes, just ask that greedy Boren.
When you’re getting out while you still can, I hope you pay better attention to the road than you did to your ballot:
“This measure creates the Oklahoma Education Lottery Act. It creates the Oklahoma Lottery Commission. The Commission will be governed by a board of trustees. The Commission will operate a state lottery. The board will write rules regarding the conduct of lottery games. At least 45% of the revenue from ticket sales will be returned as prizes. The net proceeds of the lottery will be used for education purposes. Net proceeds will equal at least 35% of ticket proceeds except for the first two years. The act contains provisions relating to the selection and regulation of retailers. This act would lose the force and effect of law under certain conditions. The act contains many other provisions relating to the conduct of a state lottery.”
So, there you have it. Also, even if it were 100% and the lottery were a Volunteer Non-Profit like you seem to prefer, $70M annually is not going to completely fund our schools.
Roads, schools, emergency services, (etc.) cost money, Vet. If you hold oil barons, university presidents and coaches, and retail and telecom corporations in such high esteem that you will actually give them cuts when the state is virtually bankrupt, well, somebody has to pay the taxes…
Those of you peeved over the 19% going to higher education recall that the Oklahoma legislature, when they saw this question was approved for the ballot and figured it would pass, went ahead and CUT the higher education budget by 20%, so this just restores part of the funds that were cut. Never mind that the new funds won’t help this fiscal year, and probably not next either. Also the state has consistently cut their funding for higher education so that state funded support of higher ed costs which was about 46% in the mid 1970s is now down to just 12%. The percent of the state’s general funds going to higher ed in the 1970s was nearly 20%, now it is just 14%. More cost has to be paid by tuition, donors and research grants.
Face it, Boren has to pay for that football stadium somehow and Stoops is going to come up for contract negotiation in a year or so. You have to keep paying those coaches top dollar.
FYI- All those $’s come from the athletic Department, which receives it’s funding from donors, ticket sales and conference revenue. If they need additional funds for the athletic department, expect your OU season tickets to go up. Coaches salaries, facilities and athletics receive no $’s from state, secondary ed funding.
While that greedy “Lord Boren” lives in a mansion, paid for by us.
I’m not confused about this one at all.
Do you know how much education spending has gone up since 2000? It’s more than doubled at the state level. Most education dollars come from local taxes. When we tax people to death at the state level, that local money will dry up. This bill is terrible.
Thank you. Dept. of Ed. keeps crying about non-existant budget cuts and everyone just takes them at their word. They never mention the large portion of the ever increasing County property taxes they receive.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Everyone keep screaming about the lottery, but prior to that HB 1017 was going to be the final solution. Face it, until administration costs are significantly cut, it will never ever be enough funding.
If it ain’t perfect, reject it ’till raptured.
Thank you.
Our problems can be wrapped up in a single word:
“Oversimplification.”
I’ll vote for this if they stop taxing food.
Re-elect No One
I’m so excited that so many are joining the Anti-Incumbent Movement! I’ve been doing it for a long time now. 🙂
Shouldn’t this money come from the energy industry? I mean didn’t Joke-lahomans just pray the energy business out of danger/debt? If we aren’t willing to raise their taxes to a rate that is even close to what we pay in in come taxes, then may be the parents who fund football out of their own pockets should pay up for school. To quote Brent Bushy at OPSRC (intelligent, no bullshit guy) Oklahoma parents say, “We can’t afford text books books or art, but look at our shiny new football stadium!”
Please retract the above post. I misquoted Brent Bushy, and do not have his permission for quotes to begin with. He *is* still awesome and intelligent though.
OK then.
Please *delete* this post chain by Sir Osis of Liver. : )
Many thanks to TLO
I am about the same as well. I don’t know. One thing that I do know is the our legislature doesn’t give a damn about education and could care less.
I think if this passes, they will just lower teacher salaries by 5,000 and it would be a wash. As for the money going toward higher education. Odds are it isn’t going to cut a dent into some kid graduating college with 40K-80K in student loan debt.
The 1 cent tax raise will hurt the poorest of Oklahomans, ( as taxes usually do ) by freezing the minimum wage at $7.25 an hour as prices and services rise, not accepting Medicaid expansion under the ACA, reckless spending including a 200 Million dollar State Capital remodel, ( Yes, we need marble floors and a reflective pool ) We have the public school mess we have now thanks to the Rethuglicans in the Statehouse. The money is there, don’t fool yourself. They want the poor to pay for public education. The rich want Charter schools and vouchers.
And the $500 million for ‘The Gathering Place’ in Tulsa; don’t forget that nonsense. How would half a billion dollars help Tulsa teachers and schools?
What idiots.
I’ve not heard anyone mention all the “fees” (read: taxes) that they increased this last go round. All (as I understand it) court filling fees were doubled! One fee to note is when a parent is suing the other parent for child support. So someone isn’t paying for their kid, but our illustrious representatives think the parent trying to take care of their kid should have to pay DOUBLE for access to their OWN court system! Yes, the same party that wants to force all women to have their babies doesn’t want to do a damn thing to help them once the children are here. It’s criminal what they are doing to us serfs. Vote every one of them out!