All you have to do is stay silent. In fact, the three Big Oil executives who authored the plan to lock in unnecessary tax credits are counting on you to do just that. But what do the nearly 8,000 Oklahoma kids who could repeat the third grade because they didn’t pass a high-stakes reading test need from you? How about the kids crammed into overcrowed classrooms or the young teachers forced to move out of state to earn a decent salary? Who matters to you?
This is the most important call you can make to your legislators this year! Click here to find their contact information and call today to tell them not to rush through a plan to extend the tax break. You can use these resources to get informed and spread the word:
- Share this two-minute video and this infographic that connect the dots between the skyrocketing tax break and cuts to our schools.
- Download the fact sheet to see how ending this unnecessary subsidy would help your local school district.
- Review the key talking points on this issue.
- Remember that a majority of Oklahomans, including leaders in the oil and gas industry, say we should end this tax break to reinvest in public services.
The evidence is clear that drilling happens wherever the resources are. Oklahoma will continue to be in the top five oil producing states, but what about the children we produce?
University of Tulsa Vice President Susan Neal points out that “Education is the economic issue of our time because the challenges of our time are so complex. We need clean, sustainable energy; resilient crops; cures for diseases like diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s; lighter, stronger materials; faster, more secure data systems; managers who can work across international lines — and the list goes on.” (source)
When a child is hungry for supper, you don’t just give them a cookie and call it good. And when our schools have seen the largest cuts to per pupil funding in the nation, you don’t give a tiny increase to funding and call it good.
Don’t wait until November to make a difference, because as a concerned citizen you have more responsibility than just your vote. We have a sensible solution to our funding woes. Tell your legislators today that keeping the horizontal drilling tax credit is inexcusable and starving our schools is unethical. They work for you, and the buck stops with you!
