Oklahoma began its new budgetary year on Friday, and Gov. Mary Fallin published an editorial in the Stillwater News Press defending her state’s accomplishments. While she acknowledged that the past session was challenging, she asserted that Oklahoma lawmakers were able “to fund core mission services such as education, health and human services, and public safety.”
Oklahoma has been struggling with a $900 million budget gap, which, while an improvement over last year’s $1.3 billion shortfall, has certainly made it difficult to improve state services - especially given a Legislature dominated by GOP budget hawks who are loath to raise taxes.
The state has received bad press nationwide for its failure to give its teachers raises once again, a fact Fallin acknowledged in her editorial: “There were some members who refused to vote on a number of revenue ideas that would have helped pay for a teacher pay raise.”
In the end though, Fallin seemed pleased with the budgetary accomplishments for the year.
"I know that if we work together, we can invest in Oklahoma and make it the best state in this nation. It can be a place where hard-working individuals and ambitious businesses cannot just survive – but thrive.," she said.
However, The Tulsa World had a different take on the ending to the fiscal year. In their own editorial, the paper announced that “there’s little to celebrate in the state budget.”
Among the paper’s criticisms of the budget:
- "It inadequately funds core state services, especially (but not exclusively) education;"
- "It pays for state expenses with constitutionally dubious revenue measures that are being challenged in court, raising the potential for a massive state revenue failure;"
- "The budget’s reliance on one-time funding almost certainly guarantees the state will face yet another crippling budget hole next year."
The editors asserted that there was little to do at this point but hope for a better effort next year.
The editorial concluded: “Given the evidence of what happened this year, there’s not a great deal of reason for optimism on that account.”