Fallin: Oklahoma must cut school administration costs

Ken Miller Associated Press Thu Nov 25, 2010, 02:09 AM CST

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov.-elect Mary Fallin said Tuesday she wants to find a way to reduce administrative costs in Oklahoma’s public schools but she opposes forced consolidation as a way to accomplish that goal.

Fallin spoke at a state Capitol news conference where she announced Phyllis Hudecki, the executive director of the Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition, will join her cabinet as secretary of education. Hudecki will advise the governor on education issues.

Fallin declined to offer specific plans for streamlining schools but said she would not support requiring any of the state’s 527 school districts to merge. Instead, she said she will look for ways to encourage financially troubled districts that consolidate on their own.

“I’m not for forced consolidation,” she said. “But what we saw this past year was, when we saw some revenue failures and the budgets were very tight, we saw some schools that were voluntarily joining together.

“We have to have it as our goal to get more money into the classroom . that means we’ll be focusing and looking at reducing our administrative costs, administrative overhead, how we can develop plans for shared resources within our state.”

Fallin, who takes office Jan. 10, said she is not ready to present specific plans.

“This is the beginning,” she said. “I’m not in my job yet.”

Hudecki said she also aims to reduce administrative costs, funnel more money into classrooms and raise the bar of what is expected of students.

“We believe that can be improved, and working with Superintendent-elect (Janet) Barresi and Gov.-elect Fallin, we will be doing everything we can to improve our testing system so that it gives a more accurate reflection of where our kids are performing,” she said.

Barresi, who will oversee the state Department of Education, said she believes voters sent a message that they want changes made.

“They have rejected the old way of educating our children, they’ve rejected the status quo,” she said.

Fallin, a Republican who defeated Lt. Gov. Jari Askins in the Nov. 2 election, will succeed Democratic Gov. Brad Henry. Henry was barred by term limits from seeking re-election.

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