Oklahoma lawmakers eye investing millions to upgrade schools on Altus, Enid air force bases
Eisenhower Elementary School, located on Vance Air Force Base in Enid, is pictured. (Photo by Billy Hefton/Enid News & Eagle) (Editor's note: This photo is available to republish with only this content and must be credited to the photographer.)
OKLAHOMA CITY — State senators on Wednesday advanced a measure out of committee that would allow public schools located on military bases to receive millions of dollars in special state aid to make needed renovations.
Critics of the plan though said providing carving out funding for schools only located at military installations does nothing to help other communities that need state assistance to upgrade their own aging school infrastructure.
Sen. Todd Gollihare, R-Kellyville, said House Bill 2516 creates the Base Infrastructure Needs and Development-Schools Revolving Fund, which would serve as the framework for lawmakers to spend funds to improve public schools on military installations. The funding would be aimed at decreasing the likelihood of military base closures or increasing the chances of expansion.
While the measure does not yet provide any direct funding for the schools, he said lawmakers are looking at potentially investing about $21 million to make needed repairs to education infrastructure at military installations in Enid, Altus and McAlester. Under proposed budget talks, the school at Vance Air Force Base in Enid would receive about $5 million and Altus Air Force Base's school would receive about $6.2 million. He said legislators are also considering providing funding for a 2-mile road project at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.
Gollihare said the public schools at Altus and Vance air force bases were built in the 1960s and are owned and operated by local school districts within the boundaries of the military installations. The schools are included on a federal priority list that identifies them as being outdated, in disrepair, in need of upgrading or having too many students and not enough capacity, he said.
They are part of the federally-run Public Schools on Military Installations program. Under the program, which was created by former Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, the federal government contributes 80% of the project's cost while the state or local community provides the remaining 20%, Gollihare said. Federal grants can be used to build, repair, renovate, or expand schools.
He said while the Altus and Enid schools could theoretically use local bonds to pay for the construction, his understanding is both districts have already reached bonding capacity.
Gollihare said this funding would represent an investment in the two bases which have a combined economic impact of over $1.2 billion and employ over 3,300 civilians and 3,500 military personnel.
Sen. Roland Pederson, R-Burlington, said the legislation is very important to keep the Vance Air Force Base in Enid and to preserve the region's quality of life and the K-6th grade school.
'It's a good deal for the base and a good deal for the area,' Pederson said.
But Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, who voted against the legislation, said lawmakers need to 'invest adequately in all public schools,' to address infrastructure issues equally statewide.
'I understand that these particular facilities might be in disrepair, but I think that it is incredibly important that we continue to point out that there are additional facilities in our local communities currently that have the same conditions, and so carving out a specific subset does not ensure that all students have the same opportunities,' she said.
The measure, which has already cleared the state House, passed the Senate budget committee by 19-4 vote. It is now eligible to be heard in the Senate.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
LA mayor says immigration raids caused ‘disorder'
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Monday that immigration raids in her city resulted in 'disorder' the prior night. 'Well, I just have to say that if you dial back time and go to Friday, if immigration raids had not happened here, we would not have the disorder that went on last night,' Bass said on CNN's 'The Situation Room.' 'I will tell you that it is peaceful now, but we do not know where and when the next raids will be,' she added. Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members to the Los Angeles area on Saturday amid protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said previously the action was due to 'violent mobs' recently attacking 'Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations.' 'In the wake of this violence, California's feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,' Leavitt said. U.S. Northern Command announced on Monday that the U.S. military was set to temporarily move around 700 Marines to Los Angeles, further raising military presence in the city. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Vice President Vance sparred on social media on Monday over the situation in the Los Angeles area. The back-and-forth between the governor and the vice president started with Newsom responding to comments from President Trump, who said he would support arresting the Golden State governor. 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism,' Newsom said Monday afternoon on the social platform X. Vance responded to Newsom on X nearly two hours later, telling the governor to 'Do your job.' The Hill has reached out to ICE and the White House for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
House approves pair of resolutions condemning antisemitic attack in Colorado
The House on Monday approved a pair of resolutions condemning the antisemitism attack in Boulder, Co., as the chamber looks to crack down on the spate of incidents targeting Jewish individuals. The first resolution, led by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), was adopted in a 400-0-2 vote, with just Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) voting 'present.' The second measure, spearheaded by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.), cleared the chamber in a 280-113-6 vote, with 113 Republicans voting 'no.' 'Antisemitic violence will not be ignored, excused, or tolerated in the United States of America,' Van Drew wrote on X after the vote. While both measures were adopted in a bipartisan fashion, the resolution sponsored by Evans drew Democratic ire. Lawmakers were frustrated that Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), who represents Boulder, was not included as a co-sponsor of the legislation. Some also took issue with the inclusion of details about the suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman's, immigration status. Evans' resolution also said the attack 'demonstrates the dangers of not removing from the country aliens who fail to comply with the terms of their visas,' leaning into the politically polarizing issue of immigration. And it 'expresses gratitude' to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'for protecting the homeland.' 'In times like these I would have hoped that my colleagues would be willing to come together to properly honor the victims, to condemn antisemitism as I have said and as our resolution does. It's not hard to do the right thing, Mr. Speaker,' Neguse said on the House floor. 'And the question that Mr. Evans should answer is why? Why not join his two other Republican colleagues in Colorado and join the bipartisan resolution that thanks the Boulder Police Department, that thanks the FBI? The purpose of these resolutions is to unite the congress, not divide it.' Neguse and other members of the Colorado congressional delegation — including two Republicans — introduced their own resolution condemning the attack last week. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said the Evans resolution was 'not a serious effort.' 'Who is this guy? He's not seriously concerned with combating antisemitism in America,' Jeffries said. 'This is not a serious effort. This guy is going to be a one-term member of Congress. He's a complete and total embarrassment.' Soliman was charged with 118 counts of attempted murder after he threw Molotov cocktails at a group of people who were gathered peacefully and calling for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas amid the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. He was also charged with a federal hate crime after acknowledging that he planned the attack for a year and said he 'walked to kill all Zionist people.' In a statement on X after the vote, Greene said she voted 'present' on Van Drew's resolution because Congress has not condemned hate crimes against other groups of Americans. 'Antisemitic hate crimes are wrong, but so are all hate crimes. Yet Congress never votes on hate crimes committed against white people, Christians, men, the homeless, or countless others,' Greene wrote. 'Tonight, the House passed two more antisemitism-related resolutions, the 20th and 21st I've voted on since taking office. Meanwhile, Americans from every background are being murdered — even in the womb — and Congress stays silent. We don't vote on endless resolutions defending them.' 'Prioritizing one group of Americans and/or one foreign country above our own people is fueling resentment and actually driving more division, including antisemitism,' she added. 'These crimes are horrific and easy for me to denounce. But because of the reasons I stated above, I voted present.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration deploys Marines to Los Angeles, vows to intensify migrant raids
By Brad Brooks, Jane Ross, Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration on Monday ordered U.S. Marines into Los Angeles and intensified raids on suspected undocumented immigrants, fueling more outrage from street protesters and Democratic leaders who raised concerns over a national crisis. Some 700 Marines based in Southern California were expected to reach Los Angeles Monday night or Tuesday morning, officials said, as part of a federal strategy to quell street demonstrations opposing the immigration raids, which are a part of a signature effort of President Donald Trump's second term. Although their mission to protect federal personnel and property is temporary - filling the gaps until a full contingent of 4,000 National Guard troops can reach Los Angeles - the deployment is an extraordinary use of military force in support of a police operation, and it comes over the objection of state and local leaders who did not request help. Meanwhile, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged to carry out even more operations to round up suspected immigration violators, extending a crackdown that provoked the protests. Trump officials have branded the protests as lawless and blamed state and local Democrats for permitting upheaval and protecting undocumented immigrants with sanctuary cities. The military and federal enforcement operations have further polarized America's two major political parties as Trump, a Republican, threatened to arrest California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, for resisting the federal crackdown. California sued the Trump administration to block deployment of the National Guard and the Marines on Monday, arguing that it violates federal law and state sovereignty. The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Jack Reed, said he was "gravely troubled" by Trump's deployment of active-duty Marines. "The president is forcibly overriding the authority of the governor and mayor and using the military as a political weapon. This unprecedented move threatens to turn a tense situation into a national crisis," Reed said. "Since our nation's founding, the American people have been perfectly clear: we do not want the military conducting law enforcement on U.S. soil," he said. The announcement that Marines would be deployed was made on the fourth straight day of protests. Late on Monday police began to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who gathered outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles where immigrants have been held. Police said arrests were being made. National Guard forces had formed a human barricade to keep people out of the building. Then a phalanx of police moved up the street, pushing people from the scene and firing "less lethal" munitions such as gas canisters. Police had used similar tactics since Friday. RARE USE OF MILITARY U.S. Marines are known as the first American forces to establish and beachhead in U.S. military interventions, and as the last forces to leave any occupation. Though military forces have been deployed domestically for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the attacks of September 11, 2001, it is extremely rare for troops to be used domestically during civil disturbances. Even without invoking the Insurrection Act, Trump can deploy Marines under certain conditions of law or under his authority as commander in chief. The last time the military was used for direct police action under the Insurrection Act was in 1992, when the California governor at the time asked President George H.W. Bush to help respond to Los Angeles riots over the acquittal of police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King. Newsom contends it is his charge as governor to call in the National Guard, labeling Trump's" action as "an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism." Trump in turn said he supported a suggestion by his border czar Tom Homan that Newsom should be arrested over possible obstruction of his administration's immigration enforcement measures. "I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great," Trump told reporters. FOUR DAYS OF PROTESTS The protests so far have resulted in a few dozen arrests and some property damage. "What is happening effects every American, everyone who wants to live free, regardless of how long their family has lived here," said Marzita Cerrato, 42, a first-generation immigrant whose parents are from Mexico and Honduras. Protests also sprang up in at least nine other U.S. cities on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco, according to local news outlets. In Austin, Texas, police fired nonlethal munitions and detained several people as they clashed with a crowd of several hundred protesters. Before the Los Angeles dispersal, several hundred protesters outside a detention center chanted "free them all," flew Mexican and Central American flags, and directed sometimes-vulgar insults toward federal officers. At dusk, officers had running confrontations with protesters who had scattered into the Little Tokyo section of the city. As people watched from apartment patios above street level, and as tourists huddled inside hotels, a large contingent of LAPD and officers and sheriffs deputies fired several flash bangs that boomed through side streets along with tear gas. Homeland Security said its Immigration and Customs Enforcement division had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day in recent days, far above the 311 daily average in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden. "We conducted more operations today than we did the day before and tomorrow we are going to double those efforts again," Noem told Fox News' "Hannity." "The more that they protest and commit acts of violence against law enforcement officers, the harder ICE is going to come after them." Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass opposed the clampdown, telling MSNBC, "This is a city of immigrants." Noem countered that, "They are not a city of immigrants. They're a city of criminals."
