Sometimes a senator is a member of committee that is set to meet at a specific time to consider a two-page long agenda of legislation, but half way through it, they have to make a mad dash to another committee room three floors down to present a bill they’ve authored to a completely different committee.

In between there is more homework than any of my former students could ever even imagine. The committee staff sends out emails with agendas that include electronic copies of all the bills that are scheduled to be considered and voted on in the next meeting. Some of these bills may be just a few pages long, but others can be 20, 30, 50 pages or even much longer. Members are expected to read each of them and be prepared to discuss debate and vote on them. And there are multiple committee meetings Monday through Thursday I don’t think there is any way to realize how intense the workload is until you are here. It’s daunting, but it’s fascinating, and I’m excited to have a voice for the district on so many issues.

One issue I’ve felt very strongly about is consolidation. There were many bills introduced this session in both chambers by members who felt like if we simply decreased the number of school districts, we’d free up money for education. If that was true, I can understand why some might want to look at it. But the fact is, some of our smaller districts are some of the best in the state. And when you talk about cutting the fat by merging district administrations, you have to remember than in smaller school districts, the superintendent may also teach, provide additional support, even drive a school bus if needed.

As underfunded as our schools have been for so many years, I think squeezing little districts for money would be about like trying to get blood from the proverbial turnip. That’s why I was very happy to hear that the chair of the Senate Education committee decided he won’t hear any consolidation bills in his committee this year. The main consolidation bill in the House was killed earlier this past week.

There are still efforts underway to enact legislation creating Education Savings Accounts or ESAs. The idea is that parents would have access to part of the education funding that would have gone to their local public school in order to help pay for a private school. Again, at a time when are schools are in crisis mode due to underfunding and facing the very real threat of deep cuts, why would we even be looking at legislation that would further reduce resources for our public schools.

Unlike many other countries, here in the United States, we have long believed that every child has the right to an education. More than that, every child needs an education. It’s the best economic development tool we have in terms of preparing children for successful lives, and creating the kind of well-educated work force businesses look for when deciding where new jobs go. We need more funding, not less, for our schools. We need to focus on that instead of propositions that will ultimately undermine our public schools and hinder their ability to do the job the state expects them to do.

I welcome your comments on state government and the issues before us. Please feel free to contact me by writing to Senator J.J. Dossett at the State Capitol, Room 521-A, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105; call me at (405) 521-5566.

The event in going to be instructed by four Zumba instructors and also mothers of children who attend the school. We will be having a raffle too and tickets are $1 each. Its going to be a super fun night. I can be contacted at wifenmom4life@yahoo.com for further information or any questions.

Thank you, Paige Blau (2/23/2016)

The Tulsa City-County Library offers many databases to help you start your search for your research paper. One we like to recommend is Gale Artemis Literary Resources which provides authoritative literary content.

This database integrates two products 1) Literature Resources from Gale and 2) Literature Criticism online. You get full-text, peer reviewed literary works, journal articles, literature criticism, reviews, biographical information, and overviews.

To get started, go to www.tulsalibrary.org/databases, choose Alphabetical List, click on the letter ‘A’, click on Artemis Literary Sources (Gale). Now you can use the keyword search for a specific author, title of a work, or subject.

You will need a library card to access this database. You can apply online at www.TulsaLibrary.org/application and get instant access to this service and more.