To the Honorable Members of the Oklahoma House of
Representatives, the Honorable Members of the Oklahoma State Senate, the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the State Board of Education:
I, Mary Fallin, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, pursuant to
the power and authority vested in me by Sections 1 and 2 of Article VI of the
Oklahoma Constitution hereby direct as follows:
1. By September 1, 2018, and every year
thereafter, the State Board of Education, with the assistance of the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall compile a list of every public
school district that spends less than sixty percent (60%) of their budget on
instructional expenditures.
2. The
State Board of Education, with the assistance of the State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, shall consider and make recommendations for administrative
consolidation or annexation of school districts described in Paragraph 1. The
State Board of Education, with the assistance of the State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, shall notify school districts that are designated for
administrative consolidation or annexation by July 1, 2019.
3. In order to strengthen public confidence
in the efficient use of state education dollars, no later than January 1, 2020,
school districts designated for administrative consolidation or annexation
shall submit a plan for administrative consolidation or annexation to the
Superintendent and State Board of Education. If a plan is not submitted by the
school district, the State Board of Education, with the assistance of the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall determine a plan for administrative
consolidation or annexation, and all plans shall be implemented beginning with
the 2020-2021 school year.
4. The
following administrative services shall be consolidated or annexed including
but not limited to: functions of the school district superintendent, budgeting
for schools, facility maintenance, equipment, nutrition programs, curriculum
and instruction, textbooks, professional development resources, payroll, legal,
human resources, federal programs, purchasing, technology, federal and state
reporting and bonding and infrastructure.
5. Funds saved as a result of administrative
consolidation or annexation shall be retained by the school district and
reallocated for instructional expenditures.
6. The State Board of Education, with the
assistance of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall promulgate
rules to implement the provisions of this section.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma to be affixed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
this 21 day of November, 2017.
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
Mary Fallin
ATTEST:
Dave Lopez
Secretary of State
