Investing More Time In Educating Oklahoma's Children Is A Good Idea
It may come as a surprise, but the Senate’s Pro Tempore, Lonnie Paxton, has a lot in common with the musician Alan Parsons.
Granted, fewer people today remember Parsons, a popular musician in the mid-1980s, but that doesn’t mean Parsons shouldn’t be remembered.
He should. Back in 1981, The Alan Parsons Project released the song “Time,” which appeared on the album “The Turn of a Friendly Card.” The song speaks of the fleeting nature of life, the inevitability of parting ways, and the illusion of time. “Time” focuses on noticing the concept of time only when saying goodbye and facing the uncertainty of future reunions.
Parsons and Paxton understand this.
Paxton, a Republican from Tuttle, took the concept of time and he added it to the state’s educational system. This year, Paxton looked at the total number of days Oklahoma children attended public schools. After consulting experts – including his wife, a public school teacher – Paxton drafted legislation to add several days to the school year.
The end product, House Bill 3151, requires school districts to be in class for at least 173 days, up from the current minimum of 166 days. The bill also ensures school districts provide an option for in-person parent-teacher conferences. Paxton wrote the bill with state Rep. Rob Hall, a Republican from Tulsa.
Experts across the country will tell you that exposing kids to more education is a positive for both the students and the system.
“Our students benefit most when they are in the classroom, learning directly from high-quality educators,” Paxton said. “For years, I’ve pushed to increase the number of days our kids are in school because more time in front of qualified teachers leads to better academic outcomes. House Bill 3151 is a thoughtful step in that direction, while also ensuring schools have the resources they need to meet this standard. I thank Representative Hall, who did an outstanding job carrying this legislation and helping move it across the finish line in the House. This has been a team effort to put Oklahoma students first.”
This wasn’t one of those pieces of legislation designed to score points. Nor was it a bill written to generate public attention. Paxton was simply trying to solve a problem. He knew adding school days would cost more, so he worked to ensure there was a funding mechanism to cover the extra days.
Still, HB 3151 has drawn its share of complaints. Most of those involve money, a few involve those who don’t want a longer school year. And some are critical of a state lawmaker who is trying to develop education policy.
Paxton deserves better. Smart, focused, and wellgrounded in public school policy, Paxton is simply trying to do the right thing for Oklahoma school kids.
It’s time his opponents realize that and it’s time our school year got longer.
M. Scott Carter is an award-winning political and investigative reporter with more than 40 years’ experience covering federal and state government and politics in Oklahoma. He can be reached at scott. carter@swoknews.com.