Many employers in Oklahoma have begun to push back against state cuts to higher education.
Last year, higher education funding in Oklahoma was slashed by more than $150 million. The cuts amounted to 16 percent of the overall state budget for higher ed.
Now,as the Norman Transcript reports,some Oklahoma businesses are done sitting on the sidelines.
Devery Youngblood is the CEO ofOklahoma Tomorrow,an advocacy group dedicated to the cultivation of a skilled workforce in the Sooner State. He said he doesn’t believe the massive funding cuts to education reflect how everyday Oklahoman’s feel. “Oklahoma overwhelmingly supports higher ed,” said Youngblood.
Vahid Farzaneh, owner of Freestyle Creative in Moore, Oklahoma, agreed, saying higher education cuts have a “trickle-down affect.” He added that the cuts make it so that employers can’t fill openings, while crippling the state workforce with additional loan debt.