Staff photo by Karen West
Traffic moves across the recently opened bridge on state Highway 9 near Whitefield. The finished bridge is the first of severa highway improvement projects, which include a new bridge across Snake Creek near Stigler.

Frustrated: Lawmaker says school board, superintendent flout the law

CANNADAY

By Doug Russell
News Editor
Are state officials above the law? That's a question that at least one state representative wants answered, especially when it comes to the officials responsible for educating the children of Oklahoma.
State Rep. Ed Cannaday has requested the Oklahoma Attorney General to look into what he believes is a "clear pattern of disrespect for the law" on the part of the Oklahoma State Board of Education and State Superintendent Janet Barresi. At Barresi's urging, the state board recently adopted three different teacher evaluation systems, even though Title 70 O.S. § 6-101.16 specifically states "By December 15, 2011, the State Board of Education shall adopt a new statewide system of evaluation to be known as the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Evaluation System."
"Notice the 'a'," Cannaday said in a recent conversation. "Reading that, it's plain that we should adopt one evaluation system, not three. 'A' is singular, or at least it always was, but the board wants to read it as plural."
State Rep. Donnie Condit is also concerned that the state board may not have followed the letter of the law when it adopted all three teacher evaluation system models. "If the state is going to pay to train people to use the evaluation system, then it would make sense to have one model. The Tulsa model is the fall-back system, but why train people in another model that may not be any good in a year or two?"
Cannaday served on the Oklahoma Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Training Commission, which was tasked with finding a new way to evaluate teacher effectiveness. The Commission, a legislatively-established 18-member-board, worked for six months to find a single evaluation model, as required by the law. The board met with educators, school administration officials and even asked for input from the general public before voting in early December to recommend what is known as the TLE Observation and Evaluation System, which is used in Tulsa schools. The Tulsa model beat out two national evaluation systems as what the commission saw as the best for Oklahoma.  (more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)

Need to file? KI BOIS can help

By Doug Russell
News Editor
The W-2's are rolling in, and KI BOIS volunteers are preparing to help with the 1040's.
The volunteers help people file their income tax returns free of charge, with "people" being the key word, since KI BOIS volunteers don't file for businesses or farms.
The only requirement for the free help is that the tax filer's income is $50,000 or less. "That includes most people in Haskell County," KIBOIS volunteer Royce Alverson said. "That $50,000 cutoff includes everything, including Social Security. We'll figure interest from your bank, your royalties — everything that counts as income."
KI BOIS volunteers won't help you itemize deductions, but they can help you make sure you get everything you need filled out and turned in to maximize your standard deductions. For instance, the KI BOIS volunteers will ensure that everyone who is eligible for the Earned Income Credit receives that credit.
In addition, the volunteers can help certain low-income individuals receive a sales tax refund by filling out Form 5385. The sales tax refund is usually about $40. (more on this story in this week's Stigler News Sentinel)