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The Tulsa Beacon

 

Jonathan Small

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (www.ocpathink.org).

OCPA: Oklahoma should ban ranked choice voting

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma is one of only a relative handful of states that conduct runoff elections. Because those runoff elections cost taxpayer money—typically hundreds of thousands of dollars—and draw lower turnout, some officials argue we should abandon runoff elections and instead adopt “ranked choice” voting. But a recent legislative study highlighted why that is a bad idea….

Editorial: Embrace what works (phonics) or risk getting sued

Tulsa Beacon

One of the lower-key victories of the 2024 Oklahoma legislative session was the passage of Senate Bill 362, which stated that Oklahoma public-school teachers “shall be prohibited from using the three-cueing system model of teaching students to read” starting in the 2025-2026 school year. Under the three-cueing method, students are encouraged to guess words based…

Editorial: Oklahoma Income-Tax Repeal must be a priority

Tulsa Beacon

Now that this year’s elections have concluded, Republican caucuses have selected leadership in both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature. State Rep. Kyle Hilbert of Bristow will serve as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives while state Sen. Lonnie Paxton of Tuttle will serve as President Pro Tempore of the Senate. As they prepare agendas…

Editorial: Proposals could cut red tape in Oklahoma

Tulsa Beacon

Despite being a conservative electorate, Oklahomans still face more state regulations than citizens in most other states. The accumulation of those rules impedes economic growth and job creation. Fortunately, legislative leaders are preparing to tackle this problem. At a recent meeting jointly led by state Rep. Gerrid Kendrix and state Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, who each…

Editorial: Voters send message with retention vote on judges

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahomans sent a message this week when they voted, for the first time in state history, to oust a sitting member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court while two other justices came within a whisker of sharing the same fate. The question is whether defenders of the status quo will listen to the voters. In 1967,…

Editorial: ESG study highlights danger for Oklahoma Taxpayers

Tulsa Beacon

In recent years “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) investing has become a prominent topic in the financial world as some large asset managers have claimed they will now invest money based on political goals rather than the longstanding norm of maximizing returns. Oklahoma lawmakers voted to prohibit ESG asset managers from having state contracts, arguing…

OSSAA rules harm student-athletes

Tulsa Beacon

Each year, parents across Oklahoma pay for their children to attend sports camps. Those parents may be surprised to learn that the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) now treats attendance at those camps as an excuse to ban some students from playing any sport for a year. It’s an idiotic rule adopted for no…

Editorial: U.S. Supreme Court Should Take Charter-School Case

Tulsa Beacon

This year the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared the Catholic Church cannot sponsor the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, declaring the church would be a “state actor” using taxpayer funds for religious purposes. The case could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Oklahomans should hope justices agree to take up this important…

Editorial: U.S. Supreme Court should take OK case

Tulsa Beacon

This year the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared the Catholic Church cannot sponsor the proposed St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, declaring the church would be a “state actor” using taxpayer funds for religious purposes. The case could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Oklahomans should hope justices agree to take up this important…