Stan Geiger

Will Terry Hood Go All the Way?

Scott Thompson says she will, but you have to wait for the second date.

It's a joke, Terry! A joke! No need to call the lawyer!

Actually, the question put in the headline has to do with KOTV's heavily-promoted feature story on highway funding, set to run at 10 this evening. It will be interesting to see if Hood went all the way in the report.

The sorry condition of Oklahoma's highways and bridges is no secret. The reason for that is no secret: funding for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation has gone nowhere in 20 years. That means annual funding for highways and bridges, in real terms, has been trending down since 1988.

But the question that needs to be answered is, why has funding for ODOT taken a dive? Where has the state money gone? And the answer comes in one word: education.

Judging by the promos, Hood's story will make the point that the state collects a ton of tax money from drivers' licenses, car tags and fuel taxes---all things attached to transportation---but the money goes somewhere else. Sadly, I suspect Hood, and/or KOTV, will stop short of pointing a finger of blame at educators.

I give KOTV props for repeatedly reporting the recent death of a woman due to a motorcycle accident that was caused by a pothole on I-244. A spokesman interviewed said I-244 through Tulsa needs a complete overhaul, and said that project would cost a staggering $500 million.

One badly-needed highway project, in one city, would cost more than the state government spends on highway projects statewide in any given year. Yet, coming into this year, higher education screamed for over $120 million more, common education screamed for over $500 million more, and the governor screamed for $1,200 pay raises for over 40,000 school teachers. Unbelievable.

And don't think educators would not have gotten what they wanted---had the money been there.

We need some serious analysis here. Serious analysis requires numbers. And, I'm afraid, I can't provide them. But I'll lay out a scenario, and any fire-breathing reporter that wants to jump on it may feel free.

Twenty years ago, what was the state subsidy for education? Relative to today, has is doubled? Oh, most certainly. It has probably doubled over what it was just 10 years ago---or less. I'd be willing to wager state funding for education has quadrupled since 1988.

And why is that?

Go back 20 years and tell me what football and basketball coaches at OU and OSU were paid. Then compare and contrast to the salaries those jobs pay today. In inflation-adjusted terms, were there any 7-figure salaries in the '80s? Doubtful.

Go back 20 years and tell me what the presidents of OU and OSU were paid. Then compare and contrast to what those jobs pay today. Reports say OU is paying its president $364,000 per year and OSU is paying its president $350,000 per year. And both current presidents, of course, get all sorts of university-provided gravy on top of the potatoes.

I'd be willing to guess the presidential base salaries for the state's top two universities didn't even hit six figures in 1988. And that the benefits awarded were far less than they are today.

Go back in time and tell me what an average university professor was paid in 1988.

My favorite professor during my run at OSU was an econ prof named Dr. Ed Price. He was a youngster back in the day. I had a chat with him right about the time I graduated in 1981. He said he planned to leave OSU and go teach at Texas A&M---the school he attended. The stated reason was money. He said, "I'm tired of being poor." One figures he could have gotten a raise by moving.

He never made the move. The last time I looked at an OSU catalog, a couple of years ago, Dr. Price was still teaching at my alma mater. And I'm quite certain he can no longer make any valid claim to poverty. Hell, he's probably rich by most people's standards.

What was the superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools getting paid in 1988? The super we have today is making $190,000 per year in base salary. Plus he gets an annual bonus of $50,000. Benefits stack on top of that. And if he's gracious enough to hang around for the full term of his 4-year contract, he passes go and collects another $200,000 in "stay bonus" money.

How many principals were employed at Union High School in 1988, do you reckon? According to its website, Union High currently has 6 principals on its payroll.

What was Oklahoma's average school teacher pay figure in 1988? According to the governor, it's over $42,000 per year today. I have no problem assuming that figure has at least doubled over what it was 20 years ago---if not more.

How many more teachers are on the payroll today relative to 20 years ago?

In 1988, what was the financial condition of the Oklahoma Teachers' Retirement System? The last report I saw put the 30-year actuarial deficit at a whopping $7 billion. That money, barring changes, will come straight out of taxpayers' pockets.

We have a very clear choice to make. And we need to make a decision now.

We can continue to ignore infrastructure needs, in which case our state's economy will suffer greatly and people will continue to die needlessly. We can significantly increase taxes on an already overtaxed populace. Or we can cut funding to education. It's just that simple.

Which course do you prefer?

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