Williamson: Whose job is it anyway? Parents vs bureaucrats in educating kids

Whose Job is it Anyway? Parents Versus Bureaucrats in Educating Kids

By Tyler Williamson

A major principle of the school choice movement is that parents should be empowered to choose where and how their children are educated. This is a simple idea: parents are responsible for their children and should direct their education. Many opposed to school choice can’t seem to grasp this. They seem to think it’s the government’s role to educate children and view anything that breaks the status quo as a threat.

In an opinion piece for The Oklahoman, one writer invoked scripture in his rebuttal of school choice. But what does the Bible actually say? Psalm 127, says children are a blessing from the Lord. Later it says that children are like “arrows in the hand of a warrior” and the man who has “a quiver-full” of them is blessed. Proverbs 22:6 says to train up a child in the way he should go.

These verses (and others) indicate that children are a blessing to their parents, not just some vague blessing on society, and parents are commanded to train them. If parents aren’t given control and are forced to send their children to a school based on a home address, their ability to direct their child’s education is severely limited.

Columnist: Why I Refuse to Vote in Judicial Retention Elections

I Abstain: Why I Refuse to Vote in Judicial Retention Elections

By Tyler Williamson, 1889 Institute

Every two years, certain judges are placed on the ballot for a simple yes/no retention vote. These elections stem from Oklahoma’s judicial selection method, and ask voters whether they want to keep, or retain, certain judges. Elections are staggered so judges only face retention every six years. However, not a single judge has been voted out in the fifty-plus years since retention elections were instituted.

I would wager that the majority of Oklahoma voters, including me, a relatively informed voter, know next to nothing about the judges that come up for retention votes. That is unsurprising, considering most people don’t have the time to research and evaluate the legal philosophy and judicial track record of every judge. Thus, a look at election results from the past few elections tell a simple story: a majority vote yes on all of the judges, a decent minority vote no on all of them, while only a small fraction do research and make informed votes. To be clear, I am not lambasting Oklahomans for being uninformed. Many people I know personally vote “No” on all retention elections no matter who it is. I used to vote “No” by default as well. The problem is, it doesn’t matter how informed you are. The judicial selection system we use is extremely flawed, thus rendering your vote meaningless.

Consider the following:

1889 Institute: End Oklahoma's corporate welfare for Hollywood

Hollywood hates Oklahoma's culture, people, values, and politics. Take one look at Georgia and see what reward there is for doling out years of corporate welfare to the woke leftists. It doesn't end well.

1889 INSTITUTE: END THE FILM ENHANCEMENT REBATE

Oklahoma offers one of the most generous film production subsidies in the nation.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (April 7, 2021) – The 1889 Institute has published “Corporate Welfare Directory: Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate,” which makes it clear that the state’s tax rebate program for filmmaking is a corporate welfare scheme. Dressed up as something to help Oklahoma’s image and to create jobs, the 35 percent rebate applies to projects with production budgets as low as $50,000 and as little as $25,000 in qualifying expenses.

“With qualifying production budgets as small as this, it’s obvious that the Film Enhancement Rebate Program is more about throwing a sop to an industry than it is about making Oklahomans more prosperous,” said Tyler Williamson, the study’s author and 1889 Institute Research Associate. “One wonders if Oklahoma’s tax system is being manipulated just so our elected officials have a chance to meet movie stars,” he said.

In an earlier publication, the 1889 Institute devised a series of yes/no questions for determining if a particular policy could be considered corporate welfare. “The film rebate checks off every box,” said Williamson. “A recent Incentive Evaluation Commission report that supports the film rebate, reversing that commission’s earlier judgment changes nothing. The film rebate is a net cost and effectively a subsidy to a California-based, and very wealthy, industry,” Williamson said.

About the 1889 Institute

The 1889 Institute is an Oklahoma think tank committed to independent, principled state policy fostering limited and responsible government, free enterprise and a robust civil society. The publication, “Corporate Welfare Directory: Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate” and other reports can be found on the nonprofit’s website at www.1889institute.org. 

1889 Institute: School district funding during Covid-19 made worse by bad policy

Stress of School District Funding During Covid-19 Made Worse by Bad Policy

By Tyler Williamson, 1889 Institute

A recent article in The Oklahoman discussed the financial impact of the mid-year funding adjustment for Oklahoma school districts. School administrators bemoaned the adjustment, citing the hardships of the pandemic. This reduction should come as no surprise, however, considering how Oklahoma’s school district funding works.

State appropriated school district funding is allocated based on Weighted Average Daily Membership (WADM), a convoluted “per student” measure. WADM is then used to calculate how much funding a school district will receive from the state. Basically, the more students there are in a district, the more money the district will receive. Therefore, if a district loses students, it will receive less funding, and if a district gains students, it will receive more funding.

In 2020, Oklahoma school districts decided to shut-down in-person learning but were not adequately prepared to teach students virtually; consequently, they lost students to schools that did virtual schooling better. Over 60,000 students left traditional public schools and enrolled in various charter schools. Therefore, the traditional districts’ enrollment fell while charter school enrollment rose. As a result, based on our discussion of formula funding above, you would think that traditional school districts would lose funding and charter schools would gain.

1889 Institute: Is Education the primary mission of public schools anymore?

Is Education the Primary Mission of Public Schools?

By Tyler Williamson

Did you know the state of Oklahoma is experiencing not one, but two pandemics? Back in July, according to the Oklahoma City School District, the state was experiencing the “dual pandemics of COVID-19 and Systemic Racism.” Instead of preparing teachers for the realities of the fall semester, the district decided to spend valuable time and resources to ensure their teachers learned how to “practice alternative ways of relating to…[their]students.”

To date, the fall semester has been a roller coaster ride with only marginal amounts of student learning. Faced with the reality that if any real learning standards were enforced, many students would be held back a grade, teachers are asked to reduce their grading standards and give participation grades.

But, is education even a primary goal of public schools anymore? Evidence from the Oklahoma City School District says no, but this isn’t just a local phenomenon. A July 23rd feature article in the New York Times by Sarah Darville, the managing editor at Chalkbeat (a non-profit news outlet focused on education), discussed the difficulty of reopening schools. She spent the bulk of the article discussing three things that make the decision difficult: child care, meal programs, and mental health counseling. Where is education?

1889 Institute: Gov't permission to be a plumber is unjustified

GOVERNMENT PERMISSION TO BE A PLUMBER IS UNJUSTIFIED

Do Oklahoma toilets flush better than London toilets where plumber licensing does not exist?

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (January 7, 2021) – The 1889 Institute has published “Plumber Licensing in Oklahoma,” the latest in its Licensing Directory series of reviews of licensed occupations in the state. As with every other review of licensed occupations, the conclusion reached is that there is no sound reason to license plumbing as an occupation, keeping in mind that licensing is the most onerous of labor regulations short of outright banning an occupation.

“It’s interesting to note that Great Britain does not require licensing of plumbers,” said Tyler Williamson, the study’s author and Research Associate at the 1889 Institute. “In fact, plumbers in Great Britain use a system of private certification to signal to consumers of their services that they know what they’re doing,” said Williamson.

The 1889 Institute has proposed a policy and has published a model bill that would encourage private certification whereby organizations meeting certain consumer-protection criteria could register with the state and receive criminal fraud law protection from anyone falsely claiming a credential. Consumers would benefit from the resulting competition.

1889 Institute publishes guide to preventing corporate welfare

THINK TANK PUBLISHES GUIDE TO PREVENTING CORPORATE WELFARE

Oklahoma is Top-Ten in handing out corporate welfare.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (September 30, 2020) – The 1889 Institute has published “Policymaker’s Guide to Evaluating Corporate Welfare,” which attempts to guide policymakers in how to avoid supporting corporate welfare schemes. It does this by urging policymakers to ask critical questions about proposed “jobs” and “economic development” programs that might sound good when lobbyists are making their best sales pitches but are actually economically counterproductive.

Authored by the Institute’s Research Associates, Spencer Cadavero and Tyler Williamson, as well as 1889 Institute Director, Byron Schlomach, the study offers solutions to the corporate welfare problem as well as criticism. It recommends that more time and effort be devoted to perfecting the state’s tax system as a better way to compete with other states. It condemns incentives for retail and distribution centers, given that these automatically locate where people are. And finally, it advocates an interstate compact where states contractually promise not to compete on the basis of direct subsidies and special tax benefits.