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Measure to require schools to spend half of funds in classrooms fails after hours of debate
Summary
Representative Caldwell's proposal to require school districts to spend at least 50% of current operating funds on classroom instruction failed in the House amid objections from rural districts and education advocates.
A bill that would have required Oklahoma school districts to invest at least 50% of current operational expenditures directly in classroom instruction failed in the House on a 36-57 vote after lengthy floor debate.
Representative Chad Caldwell introduced House Bill 1280 and described it as a bid to "put our money where our mouth is" by prioritizing teacher salaries, classroom materials and teacher aides. Caldwell said the definition of "instructional expenditures" in the measure tracks the U.S. Department of Education—s definition of current expenditures and excludes capital outlays such as school construction.
The bill would have excluded certain transportation costs for small rural districts: the final amendment backed out transportation dollars from the denominator for districts with an Average Daily Membership under 1,000 (roughly 75% of Oklahoma districts), a carve-out proponents said was intended to avoid penalizing rural systems with large transportation budgets.
Supporters argued more classroom spending would directly benefit students and teachers. "If we want to improve the education of our students, doesn't it make sense to prioritize the place where the majority of our learning takes place in the classroom?" Caldwell asked.
Opponents said the measure oversimplified complex budgeting and threatened to penalize necessary nonclassroom services such as counselors, nurses, transportation and special education supports. Representatives from rural districts said transportation and other unique local costs make a single statewide threshold unfair. Representative LePak highlighted that many school roles that support learning nurses, counselors, speech therapists, IT and media services are not classroom expenditures under the bill's definitions.
Caldwell and others said the bill was not punitive in intent and that the sponsor would continue negotiating details with superintendents. The transcript records that the sponsor committed to further work if the bill were to move forward.
The House rejected the measure 36-57. The sponsor said he would continue working with districts and stakeholders on the concept.
