Last week Reuters found that Oklahoma state officialstried to protect oil companies from blameafter earthquakes shook the state. Now StateImpact Oklahomareveals via Reutersthat the state’s fracking boom created new oil millionaires. But very little of that newfound prosperity made its way to Oklahoma’s schools and other public services. That’s because the state provided the oil industry with massive tax breaks.
Unlike other states, Oklahoma didn’t save for the downturn by filling the state coffers with oil profits. Instead, Oklahoma slashed education spending while providing deep tax breaks to the booming oil industry.
Now the bottom has fallen out of the oil industry, and Oklahoma’s failure to plan ahead has left it with a $1.3 billion budget shortage. At least 100 school districts are now considering shorter weeks or school years, and 1,000 school employees are at risk of losing their jobs.