Here are some excerpts from from an Associated Press Story as we wonder why the State Chamber wants to roll back the gains they supported as a result of HB 1017. And don't forget to email the Governor and ask him to veto SB 834.

However, Oklahoma Education Association President Roy Bishop said the bill is "political gimmickry" that will allow school districts to overturn 20 years of progress in education. He was referring to House Bill 1017, landmark legislation of 1990 that set state standards for schools and increased funding to school districts.

The GOP-backed education plan would do away with a process whereby school boards must negotiate with unions that win a majority of teachers wanting representation. Bishop said it would eliminate current due process protections for teachers.

"We support investments in real school improvements and oppose this reckless political gimmickry," he said.

Bishop said the legislation does nothing to improve school funding. "We are so underfunded it is a national joke and this is what they come up with," he said.

Supporters said the bill keeps the minimum salary requirement for teachers, but Bishop argued that more than 74 percent of teachers make above the minimum.