Pratt Elementary Student Wonders If State Knows What's Best For Kids

The uncertainty in state education funding remains a big source of stress for school districts across the state.

But, as one 9-year-old Pratt Elementary student explained, it’s not just the adults who are worried.

As students worked on fine-tuning their poetry in Patrice Mellette’s class, in the back of their mind they were thinking about a field trip to the Science Museum in Oklahoma City that was canceled.

“We've been counting on this the whole year,” said fourth grader Hannah Miller. “They don't have enough money to pay for the buses. They just don't have enough money.”

And it's all to do with state funding for schools, or lack thereof; a common topic in the 9-year-old's classroom.

Teachers are talking about the state's education budget cuts, and the students are listening.

“They are more interested in it than the legislature and the governor,” Mellette said. “They stop what they're doing, they're eyes are on me and then they start asking me questions, which I can't answer.”

But the teacher does her best to be honest. She's told her students some teachers may lose their jobs and that class sizes could grow.

“Kids aren't gonna get as much help with their school work,” Miller said.

The 9 year old said she knows a shorter school week is also possible but thinks that's a bad idea. She also thinks the state could do more to show it cares about her future.

“They're having to do all this damage to all the schools ‘cause they need money for the state, and I don't really think they know what's best for kids,” Miller said.

Pratt Elementary has planned a new, more affordable field trip for the fourth graders; they'll be going to Woolaroc in a few weeks.