Just Some Numbers

Okay, for those of you that read my last blog (although it’s been awhile), I am going to do a bit of a 180 on you, but only for a minute. I ran across a recent publication put out by the National Education Association that details an immense amount of state-level information for each and every state across the nation. As you may guess, many of these rankings and amounts do not bode well for the state with the wind sweeping down the plains. Unfortunately, as many of you know, we have a lot of work to do in our state. I decided to do some more digging and searching numerous sites for state-by-state rankings in various different areas.

Essentially, I wanted to put together a short list of national rankings within different categories in order to show the immense amount of work that we need to put into our citizenry. Our economy has held it’s own, and even despite recent energy downturns; our state is and will continue to thrive.

Now, will we move into improving our societal issues in Oklahoma? As an educator, parent, concerned citizen and human being, I sure hope so.

I will, although, continue to echo my True But Useless thoughts and will pick up that torch at a later time TBD. However, it would be nice for some attention and immense effort to be put into improving the overall outlook of our state, not just its business health. Our children are our future citizenry and our citizens need to be educated, healthy and happy. It is a cringe-worthy list, but it needs to be seen.

For the future of Oklahoma, what will you do about it?

Education

49^th in Teacher Pay

49^th in Per Pupil Expenditure

47^th in Teacher Pay When Adjusted for “cost-of-living”

45^th in Teacher Pay When Adjusted for Regional Amenities
43^rd in Per Capita Expenditures of State & Local Governments for Public Schools

1^st Highest in Cuts to Education Since Recession (23%)

11^th Highest Increase in Student Enrollment

12^th Highest in Student to Teacher Ratio

Income/Taxes

6^th Highest Nationwide Change in Personal Income from 2007-2013
Child poverty has increased in the state in the past 10 years, rising to 27.4 percent from 21.4 percent. The highest in the nation.
8^th Highest in Percentage of Revenue Received from the Federal Government

46^th in Per Capita Tax Revenue
49^th in Revenue Per Student

50^th in Per Capita Property Tax Revenue

Societal Factors

1^st Highest Incarceration Rate for Females

2^nd Highest Divorce Rate

2^nd Highest Per Capita Teen Birth Rate

4^th Highest Incarceration Rate for Males

6^th Worst state in adult obesity

7^th Highest in Uninsured Children

13^th Highest in Uninsured Citizens

43^rd in Dependence or Abuse of Illicit Drugs or Alcohol

43^rd in Cancer Deaths

43^rd in deaths due to cancer

44^th in the number of people engaging in regular physical activity

45^th in Overall Mental Health Ranking

47^th in Need for Care

47^th in Adults with Serious Thoughts of Suicide

47^th in Senior Citizen Health

48th in deaths due to cardiovascular disease

49^th in Adult/43^rd in Youth - Highest Prevalence of Mental Illness with Lowest Access to Care

50^th in Percentage of Adults with Any Mental Illness 21.88%

32.2% of Oklahomans are Obese

28.3% of Oklahomans are physically inactive

23% of Oklahoma adults use tobacco

27% of Oklahoma children are living in poverty

Public health funding has decreased in Oklahoma to $80 per person from $113 per person in the past two years -- a decrease of 40%. 

Are you ready to make some changes?