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The Tulsa Beacon

 

Ray Carter

Center for Independent Journalism

Ray Carter is the director of OCPA’s Center for Independent Journalism.

Oklahoma schools got $3 billion more. Much of it is sitting in the bank…

Tulsa Beacon

Since the 2017-2018 school year, when teachers staged a walkout to protest what they described as insufficient education funding, total revenue to Oklahoma public schools has exploded. In the 2017-2018 school year, schools reported having more than $6.3 billion in revenue from all sources. By the 2024-2025 school year, revenue exceeded $9.5 billion, an increase…

Armstrong seeks to cut red tape, reduce energy costs

Tulsa Beacon

Demand for energy is surging in the United States, but production of energy may not be able to keep pace with that demand due to current regulatory hurdles. That means all consumers, including households, could see energy prices continue to climb in future years if nothing changes. To prevent that scenario and protect Oklahomans from…

Left-wing labor commissioner asks Oklahoma Supreme Court to deny OCPA brief against SQ836

Tulsa Beacon

In 2024, activists launched an initiative petition effort to impose a California-style election system in Oklahoma. Under the proposed system, voters’ November choices could have been reduced to two politicians from the same political party. State Question 836 backers needed 172,993 signatures from qualified Oklahoma voters to place the proposal on the ballot. They fell…

Report finds OK colleges raised tuition despite the increases in state funding

Tulsa Beacon

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education voted to allow numerous state institutions to hike tuition rates. The head of Oklahoma State University indicated more tuition hikes will occur if already-rising state appropriations are not increased at an even-faster rate. But a new report by Andrew Gillen, a research fellow at the…

Oklahoma cases included in massive federal fraud takedown

Tulsa Beacon

Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice announced that recent anti-fraud efforts have resulted in charges being filed against 455 defendants nationwide, including in Oklahoma, for health-care fraud and opioid-abuse schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in false claims “and significant patient harm, including death.” The charges were filed as part of the agency’s 2026…

Experts warn SQ 832 will drive up already-high costs

Tulsa Beacon

Under State Question 832, the minimum wage in Oklahoma will more than double to $15 an hour by 2029 and then continue rising at a rapid pace every year thereafter. The money for those raises has to come from somewhere, and experts agree consumers will ultimately foot much of the bill. They warn SQ 832…

Education-dominated legislative session reaches end

Tulsa Beacon

A legislative session dominated by education issues reached its end on May 14, with legislative leaders saying much was accomplished this year. “The House entered this session committed to protecting taxpayers, defending conservative values, and delivering results for the people of Oklahoma,” said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow. “While not every priority reached the finish…

Stitt signs sweeping literacy law

Tulsa Beacon

Sitting before a class of students at John Rex Charter School in Oklahoma City, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law a bill to dramatically strengthen reading instruction in Oklahoma’s public schools. “We all know that reading paves the way for bright futures, and if a child can read, they can learn,” Stitt said. “And if…

Oklahoma House overwhelmingly passes reading reform to tackle literacy crisis

Tulsa Beacon

Oklahoma state lawmakers have voted in overwhelming numbers to require focused intervention for grade-school students who are struggling in reading, with third-grade retention mandated as a last resort. The legislation largely duplicates a highly successful program used in Mississippi that has achieved national acclaim, and it also reinstates many provisions used successfully in Oklahoma prior…

Reform bills advance as Medicaid expansion threatens Oklahoma budget

Tulsa Beacon

With the costs of Medicaid expansion exploding, and even greater increases potentially looming in the future, members of an Oklahoma Senate committee have voted overwhelmingly to place reform proposals before voters. “Oklahomans have a kind heart as a whole, and we want to make sure we can take care of those people who have a…