Report gives Oklahoma schools mixed review

(Tulsa-AP) -- A report issued Tuesday says Oklahoma is doing a better job of improving school standards, but not as good a job of paying for them. <br><br>The Quality Counts report by the publication Education

Tuesday, January 7th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Tulsa-AP) -- A report issued Tuesday says Oklahoma is doing a better job of improving school standards, but not as good a job of paying for them.

The Quality Counts report by the publication Education Week gives Oklahoma a ``B-plus'' for academic standards, up from a ``B'' last year. But the state was given a ``C-minus'' for funding, down from a ``C'' a year ago.

State school Superintendent Sandy Garrett says the state has always been behind in spending on education and teacher pay. Garrett says she's surprised Oklahoma didn't receive an ``F'' in resources.

The report is based on revenue from 1999-2000, and a budget shortfall this year means 158 (m) million fewer dollars for public schools.

Oklahoma schools earned a ``C'' for issues such as safety, parental involvement, class size and quality of facilities.