Pennington discovers school funding error

TULSA, Okla. – Oklahoma’s school’s superintendent says miscalculations in the state’s school funding formula since 1992 will soon cause a number of mid-year adjustments worth millions of dollars.

The Tulsa World reported Friday (http://bit.ly/1Cbgvv0 ) that Ponca City School Superintendent Dr. David Pennington had noted that a state law caps agricultural and commercial personal property taxes at 11 percent.

State Superintendent Janet Barresi said the cap has not been in place.

Barresi said some districts will see an increase in state funding while others will see a drop. The Oklahoma Tax Commission says new calculations won’t be available until next month. Midyear adjustment figures are due Jan. 15.

Dr. Pennington told the newspaper he first raised the issue a decade ago but that no one in local or state governments understood the problem.

Pennington told Ponca City Now that the miscalculation could mean an additional $800,000 in funding for Ponca City Schools.

A special meeting of the Ponca City Board of Education is scheduled for noon today. Pennington is asking the board to authorize him to pursue any necessary legal action to assure midterm adjustments are computed correctly.

Ponca City School District has an annual budget of $36 million, Pennington said.