Classen SAS Students, Parents March On State Capitol

Students of Classen SAS and their parents marched from their school at N.W. 18th and Ellison at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday to the State Capitol in support of the social movement Let's Fix This.

The group of students came about after CSAS student Thomas Massenat discussed the budget cuts with his family.

“It began as something small,” said Massenat. “I was having a conversation with my family about the budget cuts’ infuriating nature. My sister Chloe and I decided that we should take action. We knew that the group Let’s Fix This was meeting at the capitol on Wednesday, and that other schools in the district were staging their own protests earlier in the week.”

Let's Fix This is a non-partisan political movement that encourages citizens to be active and vocal with their legislators and helps educate the public on how to speak to their representatives. Oklahoma City resident Andy Moore started  Let's Fix This as a grassroots effort to create more active participation among his friends and family, which quickly grew to hundreds of supporters and participants. Let's Fix This is meeting for the second time during this legislative session Wednesday morning in room 252 on the 2nd floor of the state Capitol.

“This is a day for us regular folks who care about our state and our communities to take some time off of work and actually meet face-to-face with our legislators about the state budget crisis,” said Moore. He emphasizes that this isn’t a rally but rather a group outing for individuals to meet with their representatives.

Regarding the student march to the Capitol in the morning, Massenat said, “The purpose of our protest is to demonstrate to Oklahoma’s legislators the weight of their actions. Because of their refusal to pass legislation that will overcome the projected revenue shortfall of $1.3 billion, Oklahoma’s future generation is at risk. This shortfall has forced the OKCPS district to slash $30 million from its budget. What that looks like at my school of Classen SAS is teachers being fired, AP and IB testing funds disappearing, and cuts to the administrative staff. We fully support measures to counteract this deficit including rolling back tax cuts, closing tax loopholes, ending costly tax breaks, and selective tax increases on cigarettes and fuel.” Massenat continues, “As students we have the privilege of being the victims of these cuts, so it is imperative that we demand our legislators increase revenues instead of cutting programs. The strategies they have used in the past were ineffective. It’s time for Oklahoma to try something new.”

You can visit the group's Facebook page here