Perspectives: Sam’s Perspective – Puzzled

I’m a little bit puzzled about something and maybe you can help me understand it. It has to do with money. Tulsa Public Schools has to figure out a way to cut 20-million dollars from its already pitiful budget while the legislature is saying public education is a major priority for the future of the state.
That has me scratching my head, wondering just who over there sees public education as important. But there’s more. The Governor’s office budget, his office budget mind you, has gone to around 3.7 million dollars cause they found about 2-million dollars, new dollars to spend.
But it seems they found that new 2-million dollars in new money back in January. Did you hear anything about the Governor’s office finding 2-million dollars to play with, back in January? I don’t recall hearing anything about 2-million dollars being found back in January. Turns out that 2-million dollars is going to be used to promote or reassign staff and pay for higher salaries in the Governor’s office. No mention about it being spent on public education and that’s what I’m puzzled about. Seems to me if you really feel public education is important to the future of Oklahoma, wouldn’t you find a way to spend newly discovered dollars, especially 2-million dollars in discovered money, found nine or ten months ago that we didn’t hear anything about, on public education? Now I know 2-million dollars isn’t going to solve our public education needs but, wouldn’t it maybe prevent a Tulsa school from being closed? Wouldn’t it prevent more students from being jammed into already crowded classrooms and telling underpaid, overworked teachers to just deal with it?
We’ll never know about that but we do know folks in the Governor’s office are going to enjoy some hefty salary increases. One particular staffer is getting a 20-thousand dollar increase in salary. Know any teachers getting a 20-thousand dollar a year raise? Me either. So as I said earlier, I’m puzzled. And one more thing, Governor Stitt has picked Brandt Vawter as acting Secretary of the Land Office. Vawter only has a bachelor’s degree in economics but state law requires the Secretary have an advanced degree. Why? The office oversees 2.4-Billion dollar portfolio that deals with oil and gas assets and land. Revenue from that is supposed to benefit education. No problem, the Gov. says he aims to get the law changed so his appointee can keep the job. Incidentally this appointee owns a firm once sued over oil/gas lease issues, which he will now oversee for the state.
Am I missing something here? Like I said earlier, I’m puzzled. I’m Sam Jones and that’s my Perspective.