Sand Springs School Officials Say Oklahoma Has Boxed Them Into A Corner

NewsOn6.com

SAND SPRINGS, Oklahoma -- The Sand Springs School Board could be taking the Oklahoma Board of Education and the state to court over partial funding of the Employees' Flexible Benefit Allowance.

School board members voted Tuesday night to prepare for a possible lawsuit.

School officials say the shortfall could cost the school district $300,000 to $350,000 this fiscal year. 

Sand Springs School Superintendent Lloyd Snow says their district has taken funding cuts over the past three years and this latest cut, they believe is in violation of state law.

The shortfall according to Sand Springs School board legal counsel and chief financial officer Gary Watts is hurting school districts across the state by the tune of $34 million.

Watts says the state board is trying to push off the funding issue to the next fiscal year, but it is only compounding the problem. He says the school district's position that the state board should cover the full insurance amount based on a state attorney general's ruling.

Watts is hoping that over the next 2 to 3 weeks, the state Board of Education will reconsider and follow state law.

Sand Springs and a number of other Oklahoma school districts have already passed a resolution urging the state board to fully fund the Flexible Benefit Allowance.