Education in Oklahoma getting a $19.1M sigh of relief?

The Tulsa World is reporting a revolving fund for schools was recently discovered and the anticipated $19 million reduction isn’t likely to occur after all. The Department of Education said it is putting the budget cut on hold, but says they are not out of the woods.

On Wednesday, the Tulsa paper reported the anticipated reduction of at least $19 million isn’t likely to happen after all because state budget officials recently discovered that the 1017 Fund, a dedicated source of revenue for education, began the fiscal year with a cash balance of $43.8 million from previous years.

State Budget Director Jill Geiger and John Estus, public information officer at the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), explained to the newspaper that the cash balance hadn’t been included in previous monthly reports from the Board of Equalization.

The 1017 Fund, or Education Reform Revolving Fund, is a dedicated revenue fund that is appropriated to the State Department of Education.

Following the report, the education department released a statement.

“The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) and the Office of Management and OMES are working together regarding the 1017 fund. OSDE and OMES both acknowledge the fund has not yet failed but could fail later if revenues decline dramatically. Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister is less optimistic than OMES that the fund will escape failure this year.”

The two departments go on to say they are working together to get the best information.

“There is no newly found money in the 1017 fund. Time will determine whether the fund is solvent or fails this fiscal year. OSDE and OMES are collaborating to get the best information possible to decision makers in schools and throughout state government in the midst of a significant budget shortfall and ongoing volatility in revenue collections,” the press release added.

“It is important to emphasize that OSDE’s concerns are not limited to the 1017 fund. School districts need to prepare for a deepening of the General Revenue failure and a failure in another account funded entirely by oil taxes.”