Oklahoma State Board of Education reallocates activity funds

OKLAHOMA CITY  – The Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) today approved the reallocation of $3.4 million in previously mandated cuts to the Support of Public School Activities. The funds were part of the $40.2 million returned to the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) earlier this month as the result of an over-cut in Fiscal Year 2016.

The total appropriation to the Support of Public School Activities, also known as the Public School Activities Fund, was reduced by $13.8 million by two state revenue shortfalls in December 2015 and March 2016.

Support of Public School Activities provides line-item support for an array of initiatives. Initiatives receiving returned funding include professional development, advanced placement teacher training and fee assistance, and Sooner Start. A complete breakdown of the reallocation is found here. Funds were returned proportionately to the line items from which they had been subtracted.

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services returned $40.2 million to OSDE because final reconciliation of FY 2016 revenues confirmed the necessary midyear reduction should have been 4.4 percent rather than the 7 percent that was cut.

Also today, the OSBE approved 196 applications for emergency teaching certificates, bringing the total to 926 for the first three months of FY 2017, a further indication of the statewide teacher shortage. The OSBE approved a record 1,063 emergency certifications in FY 2016.