— Area school districts are starting the school year with less money from the state — and they’re bracing for further cuts.

The Oklahoma Department of Education allocated $1.75 billion in initial aid to Oklahoma schools for the 2013 school year, down from $1.8 billion received for 2012. The state adjusts the figure in the middle of the school year.

Okay Public Schools is the only area district due to receive an increase in funding, but it’s less than 0.5 percent.

“Praise the Lord,” said Okay Superintendent Mickey Igert. “It’s always nice to have a plus in the amount of money we get.”

Igert said Okay got more state money because of a higher average daily attendance.

State aid is allocated by the average number of students enrolled in a district on any given day. Igert said Okay began the school year with about 462 students and ended with about 470.

Muskogee Public Schools’ chief financial officer, John Little, attributed part of Muskogee’s funding cut to a decrease in average daily attendance.

“We had a loss of 70 students from last year,” Little said.

The state also will allocate $11.40 less per student in 2013 than in 2012, Little said. This year’s allocation per student is $3,030, down from the allocation of $3,041.40 last year.

Little said he expected the cuts, which amount to $513,256.

He said Muskogee has a strong enough fund balance to weather the cuts, but not for long.

“Last year, we had a fund balance of $3 million and we spent $1 million,” he said. “We can absorb another $1 million, but this is the last year we can do it.”

Little said that if the state does not increase its allocation, “We’ll have cuts to make in 2014.”

Checotah received $5.2 million for 2013, which Superintendent Mark Calavan said is down $160,000 from the $5.4 million Checotah received for 2012.

“We got kicked,” he said.

Fort Gibson Superintendent Derald Glover said the district’s 3.3 percent funding cut is “pretty big.”

Fort Gibson received $3.36 million for 2013, down more than $113,000 from 2012. The district already has had to adjust to funding shortages; five staff positions were cut in the last school year.

“If there are no more plans by the state to invest more money in education, we have no more choice but to cut five more positions,” Glover said.

He said the state should not cut school funding while putting money in its “rainy day” fund. The fund is a reserve for when state revenue exceeds 100 percent of the official estimate for that year.

State Treasurer Ken Miller reported $10.9 billion in gross revenue totals for 2012, a 7.7 percent increase from 2011. The Office of State Finance reported a record $306.8 million deposit in the rainy day fund.

Glover and Calavan said public schools are getting less money because the state is allocating more funding for virtual and charter schools.

Tricia Pemberton, a communications specialist at the state Department of Education, said increases in charter school and virtual school requests for funding are not the main reason more funds were retained by the state. She said the main factor is anticipated growth of weighted average daily membership.

Reach Cathy Spaulding at (918) 684-2928 or cspaulding@muskogeephoenix.com.

2013 state aid allocations

School          2013                 Final 2012              Percent

district          allocation          allocation                change



MUSKOGEE COUNTY

• Muskogee: $16,866,242        $17,395,483        -3.04

• Hilldale: $5,642,435        $5,714,721        -1.2

• Fort Gibson: $3,269,420        $3,382,790        -3.35

• Wainwright: $630,204        $642,757        -1.9

• Haskell: $2,952,943        $3,196,485        -7.1

• Webbers Falls, $1,016,411 $1,025,756        -0.9

• Oktaha: $2,792,361        $2,823,862        -1.1

• Braggs: $765,894        $863,626        -11.3

• Warner: $2,569,750        $2,572,679        -0.11

• Porum: $2,073,800        $2,144,594        -3.3

CHEROKEE COUNTY

• Hulbert: $2,098,660        $2,111,023        -0.5

• Tahlequah: $12,882,074        $13,036,550        -1.1

• Woodall: $2,189,648        $2,296,031        -4.6

• Norwood: $773,848        $782,158        -1.06

• Keys: $2,783,166        $2,869,633        -3.1

MCINTOSH COUNTY

• Stidham: $459,614        $659,858        -30.3

• Eufaula: $4,199,302        $4,258,956        -1.4

• Checotah: $5,242,947        $5,403,583        -2.7

• Midway: $817,718        $833,906        -1.9

SEQUOYAH COUNTY

• Vian: $3,645,306        $3,784,962        -3.6

• Gore: $1,710,371        $1,829,003        -6.4

WAGONER COUNTY

• Okay: $1,661,124        $1,657,327       +0.23    

• Wagoner: $8,314,332        $8,432,960        -1.4

• Porter: $1,713,334        $1,761,914        -2.7