Ponca Politics showing on Channel 22

The Ponca Politics Forum for March 27, with state Rep. Steve Vaughn and state Sen. Eddie Fields, will be rebroadcast for viewing on Channel 22 at 10:30 a.m., 6:30 p.m., and 9:30 p.m., through Sunday, April 5, and on the City of Ponca City’s web page, www. poncacityok.gov, located under Our Community/videos.

It is also available through a link on the City of Ponca City’s Facebook page, which is City of Ponca City, OK, and a link on the City of Ponca City’s Twitter, which is twitter @PoncaCityOKgov.

The two faced several questions about education and the state budget.

During the forum, Vaughan said he would meet with teachers at 11:30 a.m. Monday outside on the north side of the State Capitol during today’s Education Rally.

"A year ago, I found there’s always money," Vaughan said. "There’s always more to the problem than that. I want to be there for them. I want to ask how can we work this out."

He said the state is $611 million short to fund all items in the current budget.

"We’re going to try our best to find the money. We’re going to need your help to find the money or to cut what needs to be cut. We need to make more money, or cut something," he said.

Fields also answered a question about teacher shortages.

"Last fall we had a meeting on teacher shortage," Fields said. "A national speaker came in and compared us to Europe and Asia. Teachers teach because of passion, not about the money. Do I think teachers need more pay, I think they probably do."

He said fewer students want to go into teaching.

"In the long term, where do our brightest students go? Engineeering," Fields said. "How do we incentivize kids to go into education?"

Fields cited Dr. Kayse Shrum, D.O.’s, ‘Blue Coats to White Coats’ at the OSU Center for Health Sciences.

"It’s a program where students go back to work where they grew up," Fields said. "We want you to be teachers. Here’s the pathway. She’s laid the groundwork."

He said a study was done at OSU several years ago to see which degree program had the lowest ACT scores for incoming students.

"It was Education. That’s sad," he said.