By Rich Fisher
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwgs/local-kwgs-923940.mp3
Tulsa, Oklahoma – When Election Day arrives in early November, Oklahomans will not only collectively choose a new governor and various other state officials, they will also confront a number of contentious State Questions. One of these is State Question 744, which would mandate that the average amount spent on each public-school student in Oklahoma --- the "per-pupil expenditure" --- be at least equal to the average amount spent on students in the other states of our region. (When it comes to "common education expenditures" nationwide, the Sooner State currently ranks 49th out of 50.) On today's show, we speak with an advocate of SQ 744 as well as an opponent of the measure. In support of this question, our guest is Tim Gilpin, a well-respected attorney here in Tulsa who's also a member of the Oklahoma Board of Education as well as the "Yes on 744" committee. On the opposing side, one critic of SQ 744 is our guest David Blatt, who directs the non-partisan Oklahoma Policy Institute and is widely seen as one of the state's leading experts on fiscal policy. For more information on this question --- both pro and con --- be sure to visit [http://www.yeson744.com] as well as [http://okpolicy.org].