Public school funding has been in the news a lot lately here in Oklahoma. As parents of public-school students, this issue is near and dear to our hearts, right? We are also in the process of finishing up a beautiful new stadium with a new band building being built next year, both of which will greatly benefit our band students!
But these big projects raise big questions. How can we afford to build a stadium when the salaries of Oklahoma teachers are among the lowest in the region/nation or classrooms go without important supplies? If state funding is at risk, shouldn’t this money be used to hire teachers or purchase classroom supplies?
To help answer these questions, it is important to note that our district has two types of funding:
State School Funding: At Union Public Schools, we are so lucky that much of our state funding goes to teacher salaries. Union does a great job maximizing that state funding to pay more people to work hard and care for our students. This money comes from local and state revenue as well as federal funds for some student populations. For many school districts, this money is used to pay teachers, aids, and administration, as well as supplies such as paper, books and chairs, property items such as new buildings, any and all repairs, new roofs and air conditioners. As you can imagine this money does not go too far. If you get excited about policy discussions, there is some great information on the Oklahoma state funding formula here: https://okpolicy.org/resources/online-budget-guide/expenditures/state-government-expenditures/state-spending-and-services/assessing-our-educational-accomplishments/education-agencies-and-services/
Bond Issues: Union Public Schools regularly asks voters to pass bond issues to fund improvements and projects and large purchases. Without these bond issues, all repairs, updates, upgrades, and new construction would have to come out of the state funding, thus eliminating funds for Union’s most important assets: the teaching staff. It is important to note that Bond money cannot pay for staff, teachers, or many other things, so using that money to pay for improvements and projects allows the district to maximize the state funding for those purposes. Bond purchases are items that are meant to last for a minimum of 5 years. Union Public Schools passed its latest bond issue in February of 2018. The stadium construction and new band building are part of that bond, but other things paid for by that bond include band instruments, equipment, and uniforms (marching, concert, and pre-season guard), a greenhouse, new PAC audio, the Union Innovation lab, devices for every student K-12, a new secure entrance for the Collegiate Academy at the High School, and a myriad of projects at other school sites! More information on current Union Bond Project Progress can be found here: https://www.unionps.org/BondProgress2020
You may be left wondering, where does UBPC fit into all of this? Union Band Parents Club is a sanctioned organization through Union Public Schools. We are a booster club, but we are also a 501c3, incorporated and we have a Board of Directors at the helm of all our financial decisions. We do not receive any of Union’s state funding, nor do we receive any bond money to spend. Our role is to fill the gaps between those things. For instance, it would be impossible for our district to fully pay for a competitive marching band that travels and competes at the national level. UBPC fills that gap. We establish a responsible budget in cooperation with the teaching staff, work with families to fundraise, and help in any other way we can! This allows the district to focus on providing a world-class teaching staff, while the bond issues provide us with new uniforms every 10 years or so, as well as state of the art facilities!
If you fell asleep reading this, no worries: it is a lot to digest and understand! If you managed to read all of this and are left with questions, please email president@unionbands.com and I will do my best to answer them!
Marjorie Hall, UBPC President
