Oklahoma's Charter Schools Act of 1999 was amended in 2015, allowing charter school districts to expand beyond the OKC and Tulsa school districts into rural areas. However, embedded within the 2015 amendment was a loophole which allows an appeal to the unelected State Board of Education (SBE) to approve a charter
school district after it had been twice rejected by the locally elected school board.

State Senator Adam Pugh was presented with the Rising Star award at the State Chamber of Oklahoma’s Public Affairs Forum on December 12 in Oklahoma City.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Ron Sharp is concerned about the level of education being taught in Oklahoma’s public charter schools since charter school teachers are not required to be certified under current federal law.  For this reason, he has filed Senate Bill 881 to require all public schools, both traditional and charter, to employ only certified teachers and that those individuals only be allowed to teach the subjects in which they are certified. 

First term State Senator James Leewright has been appointed to chair the Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee.  Senate Pro Tempore Mike Schulz announced he tapped the Bristow Republican for the position last week. 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Ron Sharp recently joined the state Department of Corrections and the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in honoring four of the facility’s outstanding correctional employees. 
Those honored included Lt. Clint Bennett of Midwest City, Capt. Christopher Burchett of Shawnee, Sgt. Robbie Hicks of McLoud, and Corporal Daniel Pianalto of Choctaw. 

State Senator Micheal Bergstrom visited the Home of Hope in Vinita this week, where he toured the facility and had the opportunity to see firsthand the various programs the organization has to offer.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Ron Sharp recently received the 2017 Outstanding Rural Legislator Award from the Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools for his tireless support of rural schools. 

State Senator Micheal Bergstrom attended the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) Vezey Veterans Complex in Oklahoma City last week.  The new facility is named in honor of the last survivor of the USS Oklahoma, Lieutenant Commander Edward Earl Vezey, Jr., as well as the 429 service members who died on the USS Oklahoma when it sunk on December 7, 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.   

Op-Ed: Sen. Ron Sharp

Oklahoma's citizens are demanding their elected lawmakers present plans to address Oklahoma’s revenue and budgeting problems.  Although, I’m just one of 149 state legislators, I believe I have an obligation to present a plan or, in this case alternative plans.

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down, in a 6-3 decision, a fee that would have been charged to drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles, declaring it an unconstitutional tax.

Senator Micheal Bergstrom, R-Adair, agrees with the court’s decision.

“The Oklahoma Supreme Court made the right decision here,” said Bergstrom, “but it will cut this year's revenue by about another $400,000, which probably means more cuts in the budget.”