FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2014
Contact: Trav Robertson
P: (405) 427-3366

FALLIN AND BARRESI CONTINUE PLAYING POLITICS WITH OUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION

After cutting education by $200 million-22.8%-they attempt to blame the President
“Fal-esi” policies cost Oklahoma NCLB waiver

Oklahoma City— Governor Mary Fallin today expressed “outrage” at the announcement that Oklahoma would no longer receive a wavier of the No Child Left Behind standards. Apparently the Governor has not been paying attention. Even before she signed legislation repealing Oklahoma’s adoption of the Common Core standards (which both she and her State Superintendent Janet Barresi enthusiastically supported–they were for it before they were against it), it was clear that one consequence of that repeal would be that Oklahoma would no longer be eligible for the NCLB waiver.

But that didn’t stop Fallin and Barresi from flip-flopping on their positions regarding standards for Oklahoma students. Their reckless disregard for the work that had already gone into the adoption of the Common Core standards promises to cost the state over $100 million–taxpayer money that should be going directly into the state’s classrooms. And the loss of our NCLB waiver due to legislative and executive foolhardiness actually puts the state in line to receive more federal control instead of less–exactly the opposite of what Fallin has said she favors.

Oklahoma Democratic Party Vice-Chair and educator Dana Orwig said, “The Governor’s lack of leadership and her State Superintendent’s incompetence have already damaged our educational system in so many ways. The bad news just keeps coming for our students and parents. We cannot afford four more years of flip-flops and failure.”

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