OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Mike Dobrinski, R-Okeene, on Thursday, led an interim study examining Oklahoma’s 522 Emergency Medical Services' districts, including funding structures and service sustainability in rural communities. He also participated in a study analyzing public school districts' General Fund balance penalties and funding structures for schools that do not receive funding through the traditional School Funding Formula, known as off-formula schools. The latter study was hosted with Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, who serves as the chair of the House Common Education Committee.

"Both emergency ambulance services and public school funding are incredibly important issues to constituents both in my House district in northwest Oklahoma and in multiple communities throughout the state," Dobrinski said. "In both cases, we must make sure we have the right laws in place to ensure fairness when appropriating taxpayer dollars and to allow local officials the latitude to best meet the needs of those they serve."

A 522 EMS District (named after State Question 522, approved by Oklahoma voters in 1976) is a locally organized, voter-approved special district that provides dedicated public funding and local board governance for emergency medical and ambulance services.

Interim Study IS26-056 reviewed how EMS district funding in Oklahoma is administered, including the role of county governments and the Oklahoma Tax Commission. The goal was to identify funding disparities; assess challenges facing rural ambulance providers, including rising costs; review how various counties manage EMS funding; and evaluate potential strategies to improve long-term reliability and emergency response times.

Study presenters included Bobby Stem, with the Oklahoma nonprofit EMS System, Brandi Pond, executive director of Oologah-Talala EMS, and Brian Norton, executive director of Bryan County EMS. Each discussed EMS funding, service costs and emergency response times and procedures. Marie Schuvel, director of Tax Policy Research with the Oklahoma Tax Commission detailed how EMS and ambulance districts are funded and how things have worked historically in the state.

Presenters in Interim Study IS26-021 gave a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative review of General Fund balance penalties for Oklahoma public school districts. The study relied largely on data requested from the Oklahoma State Department of Education that was organized in a digestible format by study authors and House staff.

Similarly, a review was conducted on the number of school districts off-formula currently, in recent years, or that are within a defined margin of changing between off- and on-formula. An examination of the effects of recent legislative actions on funding for off-formula school districts and financial stability also were part of the study.

Presenters in the study included BJ Ryan, chief financial officer and executive director of finance for Moore Public Schools, who gave an overview of the state School Funding Formula. Ethan Worley, government relations associate with the State Department of Education, answered funding and carryover questions. Rob Friesen, superintendent of the Thomas-Fay-Custer Unified School District spoke on what change is needed regarding carryover funds. Kevin Sims, superintendent of Minco Public Schools, detailed implications for off-formula schools. Kyle Hilterbran, superintendent of Watonga Public Schools, spoke of legislative changes that would help to avoid penalties for off-formula schools.

Presenters commented on how best to treat the data to support schools equitably through funding and legislative changes. The underlying goal is supporting predictable financial health in school districts to produce quality student learning outcomes.

One goal of the study was to determine if current policies regarding General Fund balance penalties have a notable benefit or harm to students and districts. Outlining potential legislative changes will be the next action item, the lawmakers said.

Both studies can be viewed on the House website, okhouse.gov, under News & Media, Live Proceedings. Search the calendar for Sept. 17 then for individual studies.